The Prayer That Shaped This Album
When my husband and I moved to Nashville, we believed we were following a clear call from God. But almost immediately after the move, we learned that my brother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
We had already walked this road once before with my dad, so I knew well what it looked like. And I was devastated.
An endless stream of questions followed. Did I misunderstand God’s plan? Had I made a mistake? What happens now?
I wrestled with whether we should move back home. My husband didn’t want to. I felt stuck—torn between what I thought I should do and the life we had just stepped into. Fear settled in, and before long, I found myself in a state of panic.
I remember praying for one simple thing:
God, I need Your kindness.
That was the one thing I knew I needed. Because if I had His kindness, everything else would come from that—comfort, provision, guidance, insight, strength.
Then came the countless road trips back home, each one a reminder of the uncertainty I was carrying.I could see that there wasn’t going to be a quick resolution. This wasn’t a mountain that was going to move. It was a mountain I was going to have to climb.
So I prayed something else:
Whatever You do, don’t leave me the same.
If I was going to walk through that kind of pain, I didn’t want it to be in vain. I wanted God to meet me in it. I wanted Him to grow me, to change me, to deepen my trust in Him.
I started writing about the journey I was living in real time—the fear, the questions, the wrestling, and the ways God was meeting me in the middle of it all. He surrounded me with a core group of writers and the right producer to help bring those songs to life.
Looking back now, I can see that those songs weren’t just expressions of what I was going through—they were markers of what God was doing in me.
They became the foundation for this album, with His kindness weaving through every moment of the journey.
The Story Behind How Kind: The Album
The story is unfolding.
Moments captured in songs.
Faith found in grace.
Sometimes we only understand the story God is writing after we’ve already walked through it.
When my husband and I moved to Nashville, we believed we were following a clear call from God. I imagined a season of focused songwriting, creativity, and growth. But almost immediately after the move, my world shifted. My brother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I was devastated. Suddenly the excitement and hope I’d carried were swallowed by grief, fear, and an endless stream of questions: Did I misunderstand God’s plan? Had I made a mistake? What happens now?
I wasn’t able to keep up with the consistency that writing demands with all the trips back home, so God led me to release some of the songs I’d already written.
In God’s grace, He led me to Nick Lewkowski as my producer. Working with Nick made releasing music possible even while I was traveling back and forth. I could give him the songs, spend a few studio sessions laying the foundation and recording vocals, and then he would handle the heavy lifting from there. He would send me files for feedback, and it didn’t matter where I was—I could keep up with a consistent release schedule. It became a way to have a music ministry in the middle of a season that felt chaotic and uncertain.
At first, I was releasing songs I’d already written. But then I started writing songs about the very journey I was on in that season. God brought in writers to help create these songs with me, and off we went. It wasn’t until I had released about five or six of those songs that the Lord said to me, “You know you’re in the middle of making an album, right?”
That moment was a revelation. All along, I had the concepts, the song starts, and the heart of the story ready to take into the writing room for the rest of the album.
Each song captures a moment within that journey and how God met me there—from facing fear, confusion, and questions, to finding a grace that led to new levels of trust. Together, they tell the story of a season marked by heartbreak, hope, and the countless ways God came through.
God turns ashes into beauty like no one else can. He never wastes anything—He took a season marked by pain and uncertainty and shaped it into something meaningful. This album is my story in songs, and I’m so grateful to share it with you.
If you listen to these songs, my hope is that somewhere within them you’ll recognize a moment from your own journey—and the grace that meets you there too.
Love and blessings,
Leah Paschall
Want to hear about the prayer that shaped the album? Click here.
