Michael Stosic Reflects On His Life Threatening Disease With New Album 'The God Who Named the Stars'
In February of 2021 Christian Recording Artist Michael Stosic was diagnosed with a life threatening disease. “Rather than choosing to sit around and feel sorry for myself, I chose to start writing music during this time. I wanted to be honest and share with people my utmost feelings, my fears, my hopes, my trust and my dreams. I wrote twelve new songs, which would become my new album The God Who Named The Stars” says Michael.
"The first song I wrote for this album was called Deep Waters. Initially I was afraid and felt like I was in “Deep Waters,” Track #1. Deep waters represent the unknown to me, a very scary place to be. Imagine treading water in a dark ocean and you know there are sharks swimming below. You can feel something brushing against your feet. I needed to turn my fear into faith.
One of the next songs I wrote was “You’re Not Alone,” Track #4. When I wrote this song I was speaking to myself. The first words that came out of my mouth were “Are you feeling lost deep in your despair. Does your broken heart seem hurt beyond repair. Does this broken world we live in seem unfair. You’re not alone.”
When I finished this song I felt that I had something that would be relevant to lots of people. A song I believe that could bring hope and encouragement to those who are hurting and going through their own battle.
I shot a music video for this song that turned out wonderful. It really expressed what I was trying to get across to people. I put it up on YouTube and in the first three days it had over 100,000 views and was shared on Twitter over 1,100 times and continues to grow.
“So just hang on in this unknown, you’re not alone.” Michael Stosic
I came to the place that during this fire I was in, the most important thing for me to continue to do was praise God, worship God and sing to God through my own fire, so I wrote the song “Through The Fire.” Track #5
It was April 20, 2021. During this time of waiting and preparing for my surgery, to remove the cancer, my anxiety was kicking in and my blood pressure was getting very high, 190/93 and it was that way for weeks. My fear wasn’t that I was going to die during this 4 ½ hour surgery, it was that my blood pressure would be too high and they wouldn’t be able to do the surgery and then I would die. The morning of my surgery I had to be at the hospital at 5:30am. I knew that shortly they were going to take my vitals and then I would find out if this was going to happen. The nurse sat me on the bed and took my blood pressure, and at the time of my greatest anxiety just before surgery, when everyone’s blood pressure would be high… it was completely normal. I started screaming with joy and laughing and I knew I was going to be all right. I felt God’s presence was right there with me.
That night laying bed in the hospital with tubes sticking out of my body, for some reason all I could think about was the stars in the sky and how God placed each one exactly where He wanted them and named them all. And after what He did for me that morning making time for me, I knew He also knew my name. When I got home the next day I wrote the song and album title, Track #7 “The God Who Named The Stars.”
Late that summer I was at my home in Friday Harbor Washington, feeling good and healing. It was our third day there and it was a real heat wave in Washington. Our little dog Frank, my best little friend of 16 years, started having trouble breathing at five o’clock in the morning and within fifteen minutes of labored breathing he just died with my wife and I holding him. I was shattered. Of all the hurt past year had brought me, my cancer diagnosis and surgery, nothing quite took the wind out of my sails like losing Frank. My constant companion, always with me, in my recording studio or going for walks or just hanging out watching TV, it was Frank and I. To help my grieving process I wrote “Goodbye Old Friend.” Track #11. This is truly one of my favorite tunes on the album.
Track #9 “Drink From The Wells” is also a highlight for me on this album. When you tell people all of the things that God has done for you, you are drinking from the wells of salvation.
I wanted to end this album with one final thought, that through all of the hurt and fear and stress I had gone through “My Hope Remains,” Track #12 “In You my hope is found, whatever comes my way, I stand on solid ground, in You my hope remains.”
