Is this the end or only the beginning?
The second chance you never though you’d get
The question is, will you do something with it?
Or spend your days lost in your regret

This is the story of your life
You decide how the rest is gonna read
This is your chance between the lines to redefine
What kind of legacy you leave
This is the story of your life
And it’s a story worth telling

Breathe in deep, feel your heart still beating
Let’s go see the reason you’re alive
Oh, you are here and Love is up to something
So take your fear and leave it all behind

This is the joy
This is the pain
And all the pages in between
Your finest hour
Your weakest moments
It’s where you’ve been
It’s where you are
It’s where you’re going

Is this the end or only the beginning?


Written by Matthew West © 2010 External Combustion Music / Songs For Delaney / Songs Of Southside Independent Music Publishing, LLC (Admin. by Wixen Music Publishing, LLC) (ASCAP)

Behind the Song:
"Hey, so my story so far as a 17 year is one of redemption and healing! I am an unloved, casted out, and forgotten foster kid whos life never was like the kids I grew up with. I turn 18 and age out of foster care in like TWO months and I still have no parents or family to Love. I accepted Christ when I was five, and this year was the turning point of my relationship with Christ. I no longer need ANYONE but God, he is my mother, father...etc! He has redeemed my life for victory and beauty. Things are still lonely sometimes but I love the verse joshua 1:9! It reminds me every day that when it was finished on Calvary I gained a best friend beyond any earthly ones. My story is extreme and painful but through his blood I have healing and I have HOPE!! I am now spreading that hope to friends and fellow teens in my same boat who need love! He turned me into a princess and now I am living out my duties till I reach my kingdom above! Thanks Matthew!!"

Matthew’s commentary:
At first, the thought of spending 2 months locked away in a Tennessee cabin seemed like the perfect way to escape the world for a while as I wrote songs for a new record. Turns out, I was bringing the whole world with me. I asked you to send me your story and you did. Stories came in by the thousands from all over the country and all over the world! I read stories of heartbreak and stories of healing, stories of tragedy and stories of victory. There were stories that made me cry and stories that made me rejoice. The Story of Your Life is a collection of songs that were born out of this experience. Every song is inspired by the stories that I read. I hope that hearing these songs and the stories behind them will remind you that you too have a story and the story of YOUR life is a story worth telling!

Kristen wrote, “I am an unloved, casted out, and forgotten foster kid. I turn eighteen in 2 months and I still have no parents or family to love.” The story of her life has been one that she hoped would have turned out differently, but she went on to tell me how she has hope in God, and although her story is painful, she now has a desire to tell her story and share her hope with friends and other teens in her same situation. Broken beginnings can become beautiful stories of redemption that the whole world needs to hear. “Is this the end or only the beginning?” Kristen knows the answer to that question and she’s just getting started …