Trusting the process

Good morning.

Music was always a big part of my childhood growing up in the Democratic Republic of Congo. My earliest memories were of spending evenings with my family singing hymns in Swahili. At the age of 5, I accidentally wrote my first gospel song and the dream of becoming a musician was born.

I recently released my first EP music album, a journey that took 5 years from inception to completion. A lot of hard work went into writing each song, from seeking inspiration to refining the lyrics all before figuring out the melodies and musical arrangements. There were moments when I would get so lost in making music that I would revel in the joys of songwriting, singing and exploring harmonies. It felt like the greatest privilege on earth. But if I’m honest, I also had moments that felt pretty frustrating, I would overthink everything and I just wanted to throw in the towel and give up.

I learned very quickly that I needed to slow down and trust the process. This is an ongoing life-long lesson which reminded me that the best things in life often take time. As someone who is still learning the art of being patient and who constantly lives in the future, working on this album truly humbled me. I had to relinquish control of what I expected the songs to sound like and the timing of when each piece would be ready. Even deciding when to release a single was a difficult decision. But when I found myself praying more for the music project rather than stressing about it, it transformed my entire experience. I asked God to direct my path at every pivotal stage and to my surprise I even stopped caring about the end result, and was satisfied with knowing that even if this album was made to serve just one person then I have done my job.

Today, I pray that whatever feels frustrating or hard would bring me lessons that help grow character. Amen.