My Name Is Son
1 John 3:1 – “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”
They say you can’t miss what you never had, but that’s not true. I missed my dad—even when he was standing in the same room.
I grew up on a dairy farm in southern Vermont. We worked hard. We didn’t talk much. My dad was a man of few words, and I spent most of my boyhood trying to earn one of them. I just wanted to hear that he was proud of me. That I was enough.
But silence echoed louder than any shout.
By the time I was a teenager, the ache in my chest had a name: not good enough. And I learned how to quiet it. First with small lies. Then with alcohol. Then cocaine. Numb was better than nothing. High was easier than hurt.
I wasn’t chasing a thrill. I was running from the boy who never heard the words he needed most.
From the outside, I was the life of the party. Inside, I was unraveling.
Things got dark fast. Addiction doesn’t care if you’re from a good home. It doesn’t care if your mama prayed for you. It just takes. I was burning bridges with everyone I loved, and I didn’t care. I didn’t want to feel anything anymore.
Then came 2017.
My best friend—my anchor, really—died of a heroin overdose. I remember standing at his funeral, heart cracked open, wondering how I’d made it out alive when he didn’t. That was my rock bottom.
I wanted more. I needed more, and I reached for God. It was not with clean hands or a perfect prayer but with honest weakness. To my surprise, He met me there with the kind of love I had tried to earn my whole life.
I love you. I’m proud of you. You’re my son.
It undid me. I wasn’t the addict. I wasn’t the disappointment. I wasn’t just my dad’s silence or my worst mistake. I had a new name now. A new identity. Son.
That word changed everything.
I started writing songs, not for radio play or applause, but because I needed to speak the truth out loud—about pain, about healing, about God. Every time I write, I remember what freedom feels like. And I want others to know it too.
Because here’s the truth: no matter what your dad did or didn’t say, you already have a Father who loves you. He’s not ashamed of you. He’s not withholding anything. And He’s not going anywhere.
You’re not forgotten. You’re not too far gone.
Your name is Daughter. Your name is Son.
— Ben Fuller
Who I Am
I stand in front the mirror, But I don’t like who’s looking back at me
Wish I could see things clearer, like who I’m supposed to be
In every trial, lift me higher
Through the fire, hold me tighter
Remind me again, I was made for more
Who I am in the eyes of the Father, Who I am His love set free
Who I was I left at the altar, I am Yours Lord, I believe
It’s who I am – I’m a child of the most-high God and the most-high God’s for me
It’s who I am – I’m a child of the most-high God and the most-high God’s for me
Everything has been changing, You haven’t left a stone unturned
Anything I’ve been facing, I’ll keep standing on Your word
In the water, take me under
Fill my lungs to, to speak Your wonder
You brought me of the darkness, I was made for more
Who I am in the eyes of the father, Who I am His love set free
Who I was I left at the altar, I am Yours Lord I believe
It’s who I am – I’m a child of the most-high God and the most-high God’s for me
It’s who I am – I’m a child of the most-high God and the most-high God’s for me
You gave up everything, for me to have everything
For all of eternity, a song in my lungs to sing
I’m a child of the most-high God and the most-high God’s for me
I’m a child of the most-high God and the most-high God’s for me
Songwriters: Ben Fuller, David Spencer, Krystal Polychronis
