“Jesus changed my life.” That proclamation from Christian singer Katy Nichole is very much a statement about the performer’s own story.
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That’s why it should come as no surprise Nichole gave that very title to her new album — a series of anthems about hope.
The singer recently told CBN’s Faithwire about her harrowing journey and how it inspired her music.
“I really hope that [the music] reminds people that they’re not alone,” Nichole said. “Because … there was once a season in my life where I felt, like, very hopeless and like I was all by myself and the battles that I was facing … I know how hard that can feel.”
She continued, “[It] can feel very lonely, very isolated, and I just don’t want people to feel like they’re by themselves and the battles that they’re facing.”
Ultimately, Nichole said she wants to remind people “Jesus is with them.”
Rather than a mere platitude, the “In Jesus’ Name” singer hopes to leave people with a transformational message that can help guide them toward a place of everlasting peace.
Watch her explain:
“I’m really just trying to encourage people that there’s a path that can lead you to peace and redemption and so many great and wonderful things,” Nichole said. “I can’t express that enough.”
The performer has been candid about her harrowing journey with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine she was first diagnosed with at the age of 5. It was through determination, hard work — and prayer — she journeyed through serious issues and complications.
“I was diagnosed with congenital scoliosis, which is rare,” she said. “That was kind of scary in the very beginning, because doctors were like, ‘She might not be able to walk, she might not be able to do the things that the other kids are doing.’ That didn’t really stop me though.”
Nichole said grit, determination, and an innate stubbornness helped her navigate her scoliosis.
“God clearly made me stubborn and strong for a reason, because, later on, I was gonna need that strength in my life,” she said. “I had back surgery when I was 15 to put metal rods and screws into my spine to straighten it out.”
What should have been a routine procedure, though, ended up in a dire situation for Nichole, as she faced intense pain, depression, and anxiety — a situation that could have claimed her life.
“[It] just kind of became almost lethal for me, and I came to a place where I said, ‘God, I can’t do this anymore. God, I don’t wanna do this anymore,'” she said, explaining she nearly came to the end of herself. “[I] picked up a bottle of pills one day and said it would be that easy.”
Nichole took the pills to the bathroom but said they “somehow fell on the floor and spilled everywhere.” At that moment, she was snapped back into reality.
“It was just like … ‘God is clearly telling me something here,'” she recalled. “It was in that moment for me that God said, ‘Hold on. I’m not done yet.'”
Nichole tossed the pills in the trash and said she spent each remaining day focusing on the Lord and meditating on Jeremiah 29:11, which reads, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'”
She believes the story could have ended differently for her had the pills not fallen to the ground that day, explaining just how despondent she became beforehand.
“I didn’t really see a point in being here anymore,” Nichole said. “I genuinely felt as though I was a waste of space in every room that I walked into.”
After that incident, the singer continued to trust the Lord and, over time, came to the “other side.”
After a second back surgery to remove her rods, Nichole described a small “miracle” unfolding, as her back was suddenly straighter without the metal rods and screws inside.
Today, Nichole said her back has returned to a 30-degree curve, but the entire experience of leaning into her faith and finding hope amid struggles has remained with her.
She said she’s in an incredibly positive — and encouraged — place.
“I’m actually really content with where I am, and just taking care of myself,” she said. “And I’m living a very functional life, and I pray each and every day that God gives me the strength to just keep moving, keep going, and just keep being able to do what I do and I’m so content with that.”
Nichole said she left her second surgery feeling a calling to truly live for the Lord and has followed His promptings wherever they might lead. While she initially felt called to work in the medical field, music became her passion — and the Lord has allowed her to reach success in the industry.
The performer concluded the interview with a message for anyone struggling, despondent, or uncertain about where to go or what to do in their lives, encouraging them to see past their slumps.
“When you are finally out of that pit that you’re in, you’re actually gonna be able to look back on your life and see how God’s handprint was just on every moment,” she said. “For me, that’s what I saw. I saw how God had actually just been with me in those moments and brought some form of peace, because if He hadn’t, I definitely wouldn’t be here today.”
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