By Kayla DeKraker
Rising country/Christian artist Anne Wilson described how a personal tragedy led her to be the singer and worshipper she is today.
“I am originally from Lexington, Kentucky. I had a really sweet childhood. I’m really grateful,” she said in a video for “I Am Second.” “We always had a lot of fun together. We were a very adventurous family, especially my brother, Jacob, was like,the one that would grab me and my sister and take us on these crazy adventures, always getting us into some type of trouble and like bringing out that fun in us.”
Eight years ago, Wilson and her family received tragic news that changed her life forever.
“We were asleep, and 3:30 in the morning, the first thing I saw were six police officers that were standing in front of my parents’ front door,” Wilson recalled. “I walked around the corner to see my dad on the couch with his head in his hands. So, I walked in, and first thing I just knew to ask, I just said, ‘Dad, is he dead?’ And he looked up at me with tears in his eyes, and he said, ‘Yeah, Jacob’s dead.’”
Related: Anne Wilson Celebrates Recent Milestones: ‘Every Day is a Gift From God’
Wilson remembered that in that tragic moment, she clearly heard God’s voice for the first time: “I heard the voice of the Lord for the first time in my life. And I’ll never forget. He said to me, clear as day, ‘Anne, are you going to trust me or are you not?’”
She continued, “So I made a conscious decision in that moment to trust the Lord. I remember saying, ‘Jesus, I trust you.’ And in that exact same moment, I felt this peace like I’ve never experienced since then. The Lord’s presence of like — I just knew I was going to get through it. I didn’t know what it was going to look like. I had…no idea the challenges I was going to face and the grief and the days of wanting to give up that I was going to go through, but I knew without a doubt in my mind that I was going to get through it and that God was going to give me what I need.”
God did give her what she needed. She sang publicly for the first time at her brother’s funeral, a moment that began the trajectory of her career.
“I sang at my brother’s funeral for the first time in front of anyone,” she said. “I remember sitting at that at the piano on the stage and hearing the voice of the Lord [for a] second time speak to me. The Lord said to me, ‘Anne, this is what I’m calling you to do. I am calling you to praise and worship my name.’ I mean, I was looking at my brother’s casket. I was looking at all these people in the room that had poured so much life into him, and at that same moment, I literally was receiving like my calling from the Lord.”
Today, Wilson enjoys a thriving music career, and she unapologetically shares her faith. Her album titled My Jesus was nominated for the Grammy Best Contemporary Christian Music Album award. She was also named K-Love’s 2024 artist of the year.
Isaiah 43:19 talks about how God can make new things from horrible situations: “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Wilson’s story is certainly a beautiful example of God’s redemptive power.
Read Next: Anne Wilson Details Moment She Realized Music Can Change Lives
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