The hymn ‘Life Can Change in Just a Moment’ is offered following the Texas Hill Country flooding
The Rev. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette completed her most recent hymn Tuesday morning
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — The Rev. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, a Presbyterian pastor and hymn writer, completed her most recent hymn Tuesday morning following catastrophic flooding over the weekend in the Texas Hill Country.
“Life Can Change in Just a Moment” is set to the tune CONVERSE, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”
Free permission is given to churches that want to use this hymn in worship, including streaming online.
“Please share this hymn with pastors, church musicians, worship planners and others who are grieving from the storm in Texas,” Gillette requested. The 500+ hymn texts she has written can be found here.
Life Can Change In Just a Moment
CONVERSE ("What a Friend We Have in Jesus”)
Life can change in just a moment;
life is fragile, so we pray:
God, we grieve the mighty torrent
that has swept so much away.
Storm and flood have overtaken
people, places we hold dear.
In this nightmare, hearts are breaking!
Hold your hurting people here.
God of mercy, we are grieving
for the people who have died —
and for families who are suffering.
Lord, our hearts are broken wide.
Every person has a story.
Every one is treasured, too.
God, we beg you; by your mercy,
hold your people close to you.
Christ who blessed the little children,
Christ who calmed the mighty storm,
Christ who reached in love to poor ones,
to the outcast, to the worn —
Some led strangers through the waters,
saving life — as best they could.
Some gave their own lives for others,
all to serve the common good.
Life can change in just an instant:
life is fragile, so we pray:
May we treasure every moment.
May we trust in Jesus’ Way.
As we grieve what’s so distressing,
hold us close, O God above.
May we use our time for blessing
neighbors, strangers with your love.
Tune: Charles Crozat Converse, 1868.
Alternative Tune: EBENEZER (“Come, O Spirit, Dwell Among Us”). Text: Copyright © 2025 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
You may freely reuse and distribute this article in its entirety for non-commercial purposes in any medium. Please include author attribution, photography credits, and a link to the original article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeratives 4.0 International License.
