Natalie Grant opened up to The Christian Post about her
brand new hope-inspiring album "Hurricane," which hit stores this
week.
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The Grammy-nominated singer said her latest album was guided
by her ever-strengthening faith- similar to past albums along her storied
career.
However, Grant's newest musical endeavor covers her
real-life struggle with depression and offers themes of hope in the midst of
life's storms.
"Hurricane" was released on Oct. 15, five months
after the new album's eponymous lead single broke records at number one in
iTunes. In addition to the bright, catchy hit single, the album includes honest
and emotional tracks that touch on Grant's tough personal battles.
With a career spanning over a decade, Grant said that her
relationship with God permeates every aspect of her craft.
"My faith has shaped everything about me, it influences
everything about my art. I don't think there's anything wrong with being
Christian and doing mainstream music, [but] it's just not what I'm created to
do," Grant explained. "I was created to sing songs that reflect my
faith in Jesus that would become like an anchor for someone, for whatever they
are facing in their life. My faith in Christ has shaped everything about my
art.
Nevertheless, the "Held" singer admitted that
sharing her battle with depression was a challenge, especially since she is a
Christian.
"Truthfully, it's very difficult to talk about
[personal strife]. The reason I struggled for so long is because it's very easy
to just stay private," Grant said. "A lot of people who struggle with
depression, especially as Christians, feel ashamed to talk about it."
Grant went on to recount her bout with post-partum
depression after the birth of her third child as well as feelings of inadequacy
as a parent.
"If I talked about having post partum depression it
would reflect on me as a mother- I must be a terrible mother," she
recalled thinking. "And if I talk about depression as a Christian, then I
must be a terrible Christian. Once I found the courage to speak about it,
that's really when the healing began. Once you give a voice to what you are
dealing with, there is so much freedom in just transparency."
Because of her experience, Grant hopes that
"Hurricane" will pass along the wisdom she learned while coping with
depression.
"There's such peace in knowing you're not the only one,
it makes you feel like less of an outcast. The voice of truth won out in the
end," she told The Christian Post.
As for battling future hardships, the singer relies heavily
on her faith, but admitted that staying the course is not always easy.
"It sounds like such a cliché but I turned to the Word
of God, and the truth is, I wasn't turning to it enough," said Grant.
"In this journey through depression and doubts, why do we avoid what we
know will help us? I know that the truth of who I am is in the Word of God. So
why do I avoid it like the plague? When I finally picked up the discipline of
being in the Word of God, that's where the truth of my identity is found."
"Beyond that, I have a community of believers- my
husband, parents, and church, people that ask that tough questions," she
added. "It is life-giving and imperative, and we need that
accountability."
Referring to the record-breaking success of the song
"Hurricane" as "incredible," Grant explained the song's
value to people who are enduring hard times.
"It is incredible to hear that people connect to the
song because I wrote them," said the singer. "These songs are my
stories, and people connecting on such a deep level is rewarding because they
were hard to tell, your blood sweat and tears go in to it, you want people to
like it. But I don't want people to just like it- I want people to find an
anchor in it, and people are finding their own life stories in them."
Talking to CP just hours before her free concert for
Hurricane Sandy survivors in New Jersey, Grant enthusiastically explained her
goals for the Oct. 16 event.
"I'm singing about my own personal hurricanes, and I'm
here in a part of the country where people have survived a literal
hurricane," she said. "I've heard from several families about how
they lost everything, and a lot of the people coming have still not recovered.
There is still work to be down, and [the concert] won't change everything, but
it may change a little something. Every single one of us can bring something
toward healing."
Grant's next performance will be at the Grand Ole Opry House
in Nashville, Tenn. on Oct. 22, then the singer is set to perform along with
Casting Crowns and Steven Curtis Chapman on dates in November and December.
Meanwhile, the busy singer also just wrapped filming the
upcoming Christian film "Persecuted," which she said is expected for
release mid-2014. In it, Grant portrays the wife of a framed evangelist.
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