Let me explain...
As I continued through hell and high water to do my best in obediently shaping this project in the ways I felt the Lord was leading me, the focal point continued to be division and reconciliation. This stage show became the priority, and the album was to serve as a "soundtrack" to the stage show. It would simply be a piece of merch on the merch table. After understanding the full story and intentions of the storyteller's heart by attending the live show, the album would serve to reiterate the story and remind the listener of the importance and even the urgency of its messages.
Ingredients
ingredient 1. Strong Encouragement
ingredient 2. A Hellacious Battle
ingredient 3. A Great Loss
ingredient 4. Massive Confusion
The Story
As I continued to develop the project, countless people said again and again, "Jill this could not be a more relevant and timely project. You must move forward with this." One encourager added, "...not only in America but in the UK, specifically France, because France is just as divided as America." When I performed this show in smaller venues, the response was always exactly what I was going for at that point.
"The minute you started, I could only hear and see my own family's story."
"I just texted my sister and we haven't talked in years!"
"I have to tell you the story of my family. We have so much in common!"
These are just some of the quotes and conversations that were sparked from sharing this story. Believers would say things like "Jill, this is a prophetic project that has the power to heal generational strongholds. I'm going to keep you in my prayers because the devil hates what you're doing with this project." I knew this, and a few family members stood strong with me in prayer over this project for years. It wasn't like I didn't understand the calling, and I understood it more and more the further the Lord led me into it.
I finally mustered up the courage to debut a multi-media stage production of the show. Then suddenly, I would encounter one of the greatest losses of my life. Bear in mind that I had already encountered the loss of my biological father, my younger brother, in some ways, my mother, and even shortly before this, my adoptive father.
I would spend months in a fog of massive confusion over this loss.