Granger Smith’s Wife Reflects on Relationship with God After Loss
By Movieguide® Contributor
Five years ago, country singer Granger Smith and his wife Amber lost their 3-year-old son when he drowned in their backyard pool.
The tragic accident brought their family closer to God.
“I’ve never felt the Lord more close than I did in those moments by the pool, in the hospital, in the days, weeks and months following the burial of our son,” Amber told Fox News on April 28.
“And before that, my husband was raised in a Christian home. I went to church when I was little. But I wasn’t, quote, a ‘full Christian.’ We would say we were cultural Christians, you know,” she explained.
Granger told TODAY last year his son’s death revealed to him that his faith “was weak.”
The couple knew the basics of Christianity but weren’t putting anything into practice.
“We knew who God was, or we knew Jesus died for our sins, but we weren’t living for Christ. And it truly took going through this loss for our eyes to open and for our hearts to be changed, to truly begin to actually follow Jesus and become actual Christians,” Amber said. “I think so many people will say, ‘I’m a Christian,’ but they’re not following the teachings of Christ.”
“They’re not reading their Bibles. They’re not going to church. They’re not loving other people,” she said. “God used something that almost killed us to make us come alive in him.”
While the loss of their son is a terrible heartache, it brought out a foundation they needed—a relationship with God.
“It has been the most painful time in our lives, but it has also been the most transformative time in the last five years,” she said. “The tears still fall right below the surface whenever I’m speaking about our son. But currently, my heart is joyful, and I’m hopeful, and I’m grateful for what the Lord has done in our lives and the healing he’s brought.”
Movieguide® reported Granger’s comments about his spiritual transformation since his son’s death:
“I feel like I’ve died,” he said. “It’s not a bad thing that that ‘me’ died. In fact, I think it’s all good. It’s only good.”
Granger’s words echo scripture that tells us we must die to ourselves in order to be alive in Christ. By recognizing this, Granger says he has grown in his relationship with the Lord.
He added, “I feel wiser. I feel more in tune spiritually. I feel more aware of our present moment and the value in the present moment, the value in the current breath that we have.”
“You know, it’s strange. It comes in waves,” Amber said about grief. “One minute you can be having an okay time, and then five minutes later, you’re crying on the floor.”
Five years after the incident, Amber and Granger still assess how each other is doing with their grief.
“We still check in, my husband and I. And we say, ‘How’s your heart today?’ And I do that with my friends now who are grieving other losses and challenges they may be facing in their life. And I think that’s just a sweet way to say, ‘I know deep down how you’re doing, but how’s your heart right in this moment right now?” Amber said.
Amber is a member of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance. She serves as an advocate by telling her story and spreading drowning awareness.
God “allowed us to have a platform to be able to share water safety with other people who just didn’t know,” Amber said.
She and Granger made sure that their newest little one, Maverick, knew how to float in the water.
“He was able to roll over and find the air,” she told USA TODAY. “It was incredible to witness and incredible to watch. He did it in his swim clothes. He did it in his regular clothes with a diaper and shoes. And then we just did his refresher lessons at 20 months old.”
Amber posted a photo of her oldest three children wearing pool floatation devices and her youngest swimming independently.
She said:
IMPORTANT! ‼️
One of these things is NOT like the other! Please take it from a mom who didn’t know. I used puddle jumpers with all of my children. I thought I was protecting them when in fact I was putting them in a device that was teaching them how to drown. I was placing them in the drowning position each time they put one of these on and got into the water. Each time they “swam” in one of these they were developing a false sense of security in the water.
Our son River died in 2019 hours after wearing a puddle jumper when he made it to the water, behind a gate, alone. Every mother I have spoken to that has lost a child to drowning tells me their child wore one hours before.
PUDDLE JUMPERS ARE NOT COAST GUARD APPROVED FOR RECREATIONAL USE IN POOLS. See my water safety highlight for more info. ?
The last photo is our son Maverick swimming to the steps under water at 20 months old. ISR saves lives. It teaches our kids the skills they need. ??
Ditch the floaties in the pool. Enroll in swim survival classes. If your child isn’t skilled, always hold them in the water or opt for sprinkler or splash pad day.
Drowning is the LEADING cause of unintentional death for children 1-4 years old. It happens mostly during non swim times. It’s fast and silent. Please hear me ?
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