LIFE BEHIND THE MUSIC

Behind the music, behind the ministry, and behind the touring is a deeper story—a story I lived out behind the scenes as the wife of gospel-blues singer, evangelist, and harmonica player Darrell Mansfield.

These are lessons I could only have learned by living through them.

We were there in the early days of contemporary Christian music and the music ministry, when it was something entirely new and unfamiliar. Darrell was the one on stage, while I shared in the experience as his wife, witnessing the realities of music ministry from a perspective few people ever saw. There was no example to follow for what we were stepping into, and many of the things we encountered were things we had never been taught to recognize or prepare for. We were learning along the way, and some lessons were learned the hard way.

Every woman's experience in music ministry is different. Some seem to glide through it with ease, while others travel a much more difficult road. My experience was filled with extreme highs and extreme lows—and it was never boring.

From the outside, the ministry can look glamorous—the stage, the music, the applause, the travel, the opportunities, the recognition, and watching people encounter Jesus. Unless you have lived it yourself, it can be difficult to understand the reality behind the scenes.

There were beautiful moments I will always treasure and there were challenges of trying to protect a marriage and raise a family while living a life that is anything but ordinary.

I learned to pray when I didn't know what to do. To trust when I couldn't see what God was doing. To surrender when I wanted to take control. To wait when I wanted answers. And to believe that God was still working behind the scenes, even when everything looked like it was falling apart.

I learned that God did not need my help.

I learned that we are to protect what God has entrusted to us, the importance of boundaries and how much we need godly wisdom and accountability, especially when our emotions make it difficult to recognize the warning signs right in front of us. I learned to stay on my knees before God, depending on Him every day, putting on the full armor of God, and relying on His strength rather than my own.

Through everything I faced, I learned that I didn't need to have all the answers. I needed to trust the One who did.

I needed Jesus every step of the way.

And most of all, I learned that it was in the hidden places in my heart, that God had began a deeper work of forgiveness and inner healing.

Because behind the music, behind the ministry, and behind the stage lights, there is a story.

This is mine.