THE PLACE WHERE HE SET HIS KEYS
Inspired by “He Washed My Eyes With Tears” — Jimmy Swaggart
Brother Swaggart had a habit of placing his keys in the exact same spot every time he filmed a program. Not out of superstition, not out of forgetfulness — but from the rhythm of a man who’d spent his life walking the narrow road. Over the course of about 12 years, that simple gesture wore a small, smooth patch into the wood of the old studio desk — a quiet mark of faithfulness, carved by time.
That groove, unnoticed by most, held a thousand unspoken prayers. It marked the spot where he paused to breathe before stepping into the lights. Where he asked for strength before preaching to strangers he’d never meet. Where he whispered thank yous to a God who never left, even when the world did.
It was there, with his keys resting on worn wood, that Brother Swaggart often hummed the opening bars of the old song —
“He washed my eyes with tears… that I might see.”
Those words weren’t just lyrics. They were a testimony.
He didn’t choose them because they were pretty.
He chose them because he lived them.
There were nights — and there were many — when he had to sing through the storm. Nights when the weight of regret hung heavy behind the camera. When the audience clapped, but heaven wept. And still… he sang. Not for applause. Not for redemption in the eyes of men. But because something divine had touched him once, and never let go.
“He washed my eyes with tears… and made me see the joy of serving Him.”
Those who watched him from living rooms and revival tents never saw the groove in the desk. They didn’t see the worn edge where his Bible rested. But they heard the ache in his voice when he sang that hymn. They felt the tremble that only comes from a soul that’s been broken… and rebuilt.
And maybe that’s what makes that song — and that man — so unforgettable.
He wasn’t perfect. But he was real.
He didn’t hide his tears. He turned them into music.
And in the end, when the lights are dimmed and the studio is still, that little mark on the desk remains —
Not just where he placed his keys,
But where he laid down his burdens,
One by one,
Until all that was left… was the song.
“He washed my eyes with tears… that I might see.”
And because of that —
So many others did too.