Once upon a time, a young woman decided to take a step of faith. She called a producer, asked for a quote and more information about recording a worship project, then signed a contract.
That was in 2017.
One thing led to another, and in November 2021, that woman brought home a beautiful baby girl from the hospital, making her family a family of three.
Now, you may be wondering just how these things are connected, especially over the span of 4 years.
How do you get from recording a worship project to adding to your family?
That’s a great question!
And my answer to that is found in Psalm 37:23, “The steps of a good [wo]man are ordered by the Lord…”
I’ve always heard and believed this Scripture. But after recent events, God has really blown my mind with how He orders our steps, and is truly involved in even the smallest details of our lives.
Yes, I’m the woman in the story above.
And I would have never dreamed that taking that step of faith in 2017 would somehow lead to God adding a bundle of joy to our family.
But that’s exactly what happened.
And I could trace the hand of God back even further than that if I had the time and energy. (I have a 2 month old daughter, so I definitely don’t have the time or energy at the moment!)
Let me share a few of the details that took place between 2017 and 2021.
After deciding to pursue writing and recording songs for the church in a bigger way, I released a project called Fight For Us in 2018. God used the title track to introduce me to the Apostolic movement as an artist and worship leader. It’s kind of funny, because I thought that song would be the least liked song on the project for some reason.
Boy, was I wrong!
After that project took off, I decided to release another project the following year.
And then I had the idea to do an Apostolic music tour. So, in 2019, along with Cortt Chavis and James Wilson, I launched the Battle Cry Tour.
Everything seemed to fall into place for that tour, and I was blown away by what God accomplished that week.
So, of course we had to do another one!
Only this time, things didn’t fall into place as well as I thought they should.
2020 brought shutdowns and social distancing, so we were forced to move the dates. Then move them again.
Team members changed, and then changed again.
It felt like a constant, never-ending fight to make Battle Cry Tour happen again. But we finally landed on dates for October 2021. In the middle of all that, my husband and I experienced a failed adoption. (You can read more about our adoption journey, which began in 2016, here and here.)
We were heartbroken, and I didn’t understand why we had to go through that.
I ended up back at home with empty arms and no answers.
But I didn’t stop releasing new music. And it just so happened, immediately after the failed adoption, that the next song I had planned to release was called Never Break A Promise. It was all about how God, well, He never breaks a promise.
Just one more small detail to remind me that God knew. He saw. And He was still faithful.
So with no baby at home, I released the song.
Battle Cry Tour finally came around, and I knew I was supposed to sing this song, share the story of our failed adoption, and remind people that we serve a God who keeps His Word even though I still didn’t have a baby.
So, I did.
Every night of the tour. (A tour that almost didn’t happen.)
And something amazing happened.
God ordered my steps.
He put me in the right place, at the right time, and asked me to share my story knowing the right person was going to hear it.
From the airport on my way home from tour, I received a phone call about a baby who needed a family. And just like that our family was changed forever. (You can see the full testimony here.)
When I look back, I see so many things that led to me being on that platform that night, singing my songs and sharing my story.
I can’t tell you how many times I have stopped and thought, “what if I had said no or done things differently? What if I hadn’t made that first phone call, or said yes to that opportunity that scared me?”
How different would my story look right now?
And then, I find so much comfort in Psalm 37:23.
The steps of a good woman are ordered by the Lord.
He is the only one who sees every step and every detail.
And He cares.
He puts the pieces in place in ways my mind can’t even comprehend.
His ways and thoughts are so much higher than mine! (Isaiah 55:9)
All He asks is that I trust Him.
He asks that I walk by faith and remember that He is ordering my steps.
When things seem to go my way, I trust that it’s a part of His plan.
And when things seem to fall apart, and I don’t understand, I have to keep trusting that He sees the end from the beginning. He knows exactly where I’m headed. In fact, He’s there already because He goes before me. (Isaiah 45:2)
So my prayer this year is that God would continue to order my steps.
I pray that I have the faith to trust that He is ordering my steps, even when things don’t go the way I think they should. Because if 2021 taught me anything (and it definitely taught me a lot), it’s that the steps of a good woman are ordered by the Lord.
And it really can’t get any better than that.
