From childhood, recording artist Cristina Lynn remembers telling her dad goodbye as he left for military service.

Cristina Lynn performed for the U.S. Army 115th Battalion's deployment dinner.

Capturing those emotions, Lynn co-wrote “I Miss You” and recorded a video with images of local military families.

She envisioned the video in 2006 when military personnel started leaving their families for deployment in the Middle East. “I vividly remember seeing good-byes on TV … sitting down on the couch and just crying for these families,” Lynn said.

“My thought was, ‘What do those leaving and those staying at home have in common? Three simple words came to mind over and over again … ‘I miss you.’

People told her that “I Miss You” was just too simple. “I refused to change the message of my song,” Lynn said. “To me, simple is pure and natural and so is missing someone so much that you think of them all the time and feel them everywhere.”

An excerpt follows: “When the wind barely blows, I think I feel you. It’s just a breeze but I pretend that the breeze is you.”

In recent years, Lynn has been “honored and blessed” to perform for groups before deployments. Recently, she heard about a songwriter contest and realized that “I Miss You” could come to life.

“I’ve met so many wonderful military families along my musical journey and stay in touch via email and Facebook,” Lynn said. She announced her idea and received photographs from many families. “So many amazing moments were shared with me. I sat and cried even before the video was complete.”

The track is available on her second CD, “From All Sides.”

Her husband Kevin handled the technical angle of merging images and music. “When it was complete, there were so many tears of joy! My hope is to raise awareness of the sacrifices they make every day,” Lynn said.

Lynn wrote most lyrics, with help from Chuck Rutenberg.

For a copy of “I Miss You,” visit CristinaLynn.com, CristinaLynn@CristinaLynn.com or Facebook/clynnfans.