He
Restoreth Her Soul...
Anadara
Farmer was brought up a devout Christian by a mother who was part
of the worship team at their San Diego, Calif., church. As a preteen,
she already was writing worship music because “I thought
that was what everyone did.”
During
high school and into college at Syracuse University, however,
Anadara started “going my own way, rather than God’s.”
Although
she never lost her faith, Anadara said she did not begin really
reconnecting with the Lord until she listened to a CD recorded
by the popular Christian group “Switchfoot.” She had
known the members personally when they were just a “garage
band” in San Diego. “I was convicted by the fact that
they were using their musical talents for the Lord,” she
said.
When
Anadara moved to New York City to pursue a career in theatrical
music, she said, it was hard to get auditions and, because of
her temporary job as a waitress, even harder to find a church
to attend.
She
still spent personal time with the Lord in prayer and Bible reading,
however, noticing that Psalm 23 frequently leaped out at her during
these daily devotionals. “Of course, I was very familiar
with the popular Psalm,” she said. “It was even embroidered
on a pillow on my grandmother’s couch. But I had never studied
it seriously.”
Finally,
at another of those canceled theater auditions, Anadara picked
up a brochure advertising Harvest Christian Fellowship. She noticed
that the church met on Thursdays, one of her few off nights from
work. What really got her attention in the brochure, she said,
was that the church currently was teaching on the 23rd Psalm and,
in fact, planned a nine-week study of the beloved Bible chapter.
Since
it was Thursday, Anadara went to church that very night. It turned
her life around.
“I
spent the next couple of years doing nothing except waiting tables
and going to church. God was weeding out habits in my life,”
she said. “I worked at my job, wrote songs and worked on
my relationship with the Lord.”
It
was at Harvest Christian Fellowship where Anadara’s childhood
passion for singing and playing to the Lord was rekindled and
where she met her husband Rocky.
Most
importantly, it is where she stopped following her own path and
allowed God to lead her down the path of righteousness for His
name’s sake.
(Posted:
April 6, 2005)
