Contemporary Christian band Big Daddy Weave took to the stage for the first time since the death of co-founder Jay Weaver on Saturday at Florida's Rock the Universe, a Christian music festival. Midway through their set, Mike Weaver opened up about his brother's death in the first days of January, when he succumbed to complications exacerbated by COVID. He was 42.
"I've been really scared about this show, actually. I just need to kind of rip the Band-Aid off," Mike told the audience, as reported by the Christian Post. "This is the first show that we have played this year, but the first show, specifically, since my brother, Jay, who played bass with us for 23 years, went to Heaven to be with Jesus. He had this really long health battle, and we just saw Jesus carry him through so much."
Jay battled diabetes for 20 years, a disease that had weakened his immune system, making him more prone to infections. He had undergone an amputation of both his feet as a result of the illness. The bassist remained in the band for five more years following the amputations and fans continued to support him with prayers.
But in late December 2021, Jay was hospitalized due to complications from COVID. On January 1, Jay's wife, Emily took to social media to issue a call for prayer for her husband, sharing that the performer had been struggling with COVID and had been in the hospital for five days. Just a day later, the family announced that Jay passed away.
"The story of Jay's life continues to just blow us away, how Jesus had used him in the lives of people. And it wasn't by some Olympic medalist or something; it was through him just getting through every day and in the midst of a great amount of pain," Mike remarked during Saturday's concert.
Through his grief, Mike shared that his brother Jay was his "best friend on this planet" and how his brother and wife were best friends as well. He admitted, "It doesn't seem real that he's not here right now. When it dawns on me that it is, it hurts so bad."
Mike added however that when the family thinks of Jay and the end of all his suffering and the fact that "he's not hurting anymore," he said he could "take that pain for a little while."
"God was just shining through him so bright. It's pretty incredible," Mike remarked of his brother. "He really has carried my whole family."
The singer also shared how Jay's faith impacted the people around him. Mike recounted how last year, in South Carolina, Jay's testimony made an impact on a former pastor who left the faith. At the time, Jay already had been amputated, could not see out of one eye, was on dialysis, and also lost some of his fingers. Yet, Mike sad, "He was still every day trusting in healer: Jesus."
According to Yahoo! News, Big Daddy Weave was founded in 1998 in Mobile Alabama and was responsible for several No. 1 singles on contemporary Christian radio charts, including "Every Time I Breathe," "My Story," "I Know" and "Redeemed.
