Randy Travis was among three honored Sunday as inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame, and those who were there witnessed what his wife calls a ‘miracle.’ As fellow country singers choked back tears, Travis stood among his peers and sang Amazing Grace. How sweet the sound, given that three years ago, the singer was given up for dead.

In 2013, Travis suffered a debilitating stroke caused by a viral infection in his heart. Hospitalized for six months, Travis was unable to speak or sing — a devastating blow to his career — and could barely walk.

His wife, Mary Davis-Travis recalled that at one point during his hospital stay, the doctors told her he was going to die. “They said ‘There’s really no hope, go ahead and pull the plug,'” she said. “I went to his bedside and I said, ‘Baby, you’ve got to give me some more fight.’ And I knew that he’d had a little talk with Jesus because he squeezed my hand and a little tear fell down, and I knew that he wasn’t through yet.”

Sunday night at the 2016 Country Music Hall of Fame Medallion Ceremony, Davis-Travis spoke on her husband’s behalf. She wanted to make sure that those present knew Travis didn’t feel sorry for himself and the struggles he’s endured. “Randy’s often said no doubt there have been storms in life, but God Almighty has carried him through each and every one and today makes him the man that he is.”

Fellow country legend Garth Brooks officially inducted Travis into the Country Music Hall of Fame, heralding him as the premier country singer who turned the dying genre around and paved the way for future country superstars, making country music even bigger than it was before. Singer Charlie Daniels and music executive Fred Foster were also inducted Sunday.

Davis-Travis, standing alongside her husband as he accepted membership into the Hall of Fame, said Sunday was the highlight of her husband’s career. “Today is the greatest day of Randy’s celebrated music career,” she said. “Randy wants to thank you for listening and loving him. Randy stared death in the face, but death blinked. God’s proof of a miracle stands before you.”

She asked the audience to rise and sing with Travis:

Here’s Randy Travis singing one of his most inspirational hits, the 2003 Song of the Year and winner of a Dove and a CMA Award, “Three Wooden Crosses.”