Walk By Faith (Lyrics by Dennis Kurttila)

In 2013, Dennis' wife Wendy was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. As the disease progressed, it became necessary for her to have around-the-clock care. Eventually, in late 2017 Wendy was admitted to a nursing home in Palmyra, Tennessee where she remained until her passing 20 months later.

Palmyra was some ninety minutes away from their home in Franklin. Until her passing, Dennis made the trip from Franklin to Palmyra and back every day so that he could have dinner with Wendy and spend time with her even though she no longer recognized him.  It was beyond tough.  He hated seeing what was happening to Wendy and feeling powerless to do anything about it.  What could he do? He could keep making the trip and loving his wife. So, he remained committed to doing just that.  

Even with that resolve, he regularly found himself in desperate need.  Dennis needed sleep. He needed money to pay for gas and bills that were piling up. He needed encouragement.  He needed so much and felt incredibly overwhelmed. In those times, Dennis would literally cry out to God with tears streaming down his face - asking God to help with the circumstance. Sometimes, he even screamed at the windshield.  “Yeah,” Dennis recounts, “I really did that.”

On those many long drives, when he wasn’t praying or screaming, he would write songs. During one of his many return trips to their home in Franklin, Dennis was driving past what is now the place he calls home (Burns, Tennessee,) and over the course of about thirty minutes the song “Walk by Faith” poured out. He captured the idea on his phone’s voice recorder and sat down at their dining room table after arriving home to record the song in its rough form. At that time, he was only given the words and melody but not the music. 

For a time, he attempted to co-write the music with several different collaborators and was unable to finish it. Eventually, the song went into the unfinished song file and stayed there for several years. 

Then, in late 2024 Herbie, Steve and Dennis began discussing starting a band. He suggested “Walk by Faith” might be good for this project. Soon afterwards while sitting down with his acoustic guitar, the music came into focus. In early 2025, he completed the song and presented it to the guys. They all agreed that it was just what we were looking for.  This was the very first song they performed together as The Forty-First, at a little church in Burns, Tennessee only a few short miles from where it was inspired by God.

Life was hard during that season of Dennis' life. He often felt he was at the end of the strength he had been given but God was always there to catch him.  Sometimes God used anonymous angels that left envelopes of money in his mailbox. Other times friends, family and neighbors were His hands and feet and kept Dennis fed with home cooked meals and words of encouragement. 

“Walk by Faith” is very personal to Dennis, and now Herb and Steve as well. This life has hardship and struggle in it for us all. It is not always easy, and the road ahead isn’t always clear but we can rest assured that God is right there next to us as we go through it all, and eventually this road leads us home to be with Him.

“So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,
for we walk by faith, not by sight.”
2 Corinthians 5:6-7
 

Herb Chapman - Bass/Vocals
Steve Charles - Mandolin/Banjo/Vocals
Dennis Kurttila - Guitar/Vocals

Engineering - Steve Charles, Dennis Kurttila
Tracks recorded @ Highland and Solid Ground Studios
Mixed and Mastered @ Solid Ground Studio