My wife and I don’t watch many television shows regularly, but for some reason, American Idol is one of them. In the early days, I’ll admit, I found Simon Cowell’s sarcastic critiques of the various performers paradoxically entertaining, and the premise of voting on singers seeking to become stars was unusual. Over the years, some winners went on to fame, while others went to obscurity.
But none captured our interest as did this year’s winner, Hannah Harper, which points to my point.
‘The most relatable song I think I’ve ever heard’
In February, viewers met Harper, a 25-year-old stay-at-home mom from Missouri. She auditioned in a patchwork dress that she sewed herself. When she told the story behind the song she wrote and was about to perform, she began to cry.
Harper has three sons. She told the judges that she suffered from postpartum depression after her youngest was born and was sitting on the couch one day, “having a pity party and praying that the Lord would calm my spirit.” One of her kids then began asking her to open a packet of string cheese.
“I’m like, ‘Leave me alone with the dadgum cheese,’ she said, her voice choking up. “And I finally opened his cheese. And when I did, I realized that God had put me in that place, and that where I was in my house was the biggest ministry that I could ever have. And being a mom . . . I realized that that was exactly what I wanted, and I kind of kicked the postpartum depression in the butt and said, ‘I ain’t doin’ it.’”
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written and originally published by the Denison Forum.
