Rising Stars: Meet Rachael Thomas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachael Thomas. 

Hi Rachael, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Sure! Thanks so much for having me! I’m a proud Texan but my family and I have been blessed to call Nashville “home” for the last 4 years. I’m grateful to be able to write music and lead worship here and truly believe that God is reviving this city to be a place of worship and creative community like never before! I say this because God has used “community” in my own story to help me write again in ways I never thought possible. 

I grew up with a genuine love for words and was always trying to write songs…during math tests, on the way home from piano lessons…honestly, wherever and whenever I could! I was so blessed to have parents, mentors, and pastors in my life who poured into me and allowed me to share songs and learn to fail in safe spaces. But somewhere in-between high school and college, I allowed perfectionism to dictate the way I wrote and shared any sort of music. It doesn’t sound like much, but when pleasing people takes over your life, it grips every corner with anxiety that’s really hard to shake. 

To be honest, I hobbled along like this for a good part of my 20s and early 30s…even while I was leading worship and writing songs for my church, there was this massive part of my mind that was constantly comparing and self-loathing. I was living in bondage to perfectionism and was desperate to know that I wasn’t the only one struggling with it. I prayed God would show me how to get help, but I didn’t know how to admit that I even needed it! 

Then sometime in 2016, while my husband and I were still on staff at our church in the DFW, I stumbled across a women’s songwriting community in Nashville called “Brave”. I had no idea how instrumental these women would be in my own story and how the Lord would use them to speak hope over some of the most wounded places in my life. It wasn’t long before God began to place the dream of Nashville in my family’s heart and make a way for us to move here in 2018. So much of God’s healing work is what has led to me being able to release music in 2019 and I’m deeply grateful! 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have definitely been struggles…the last few years have involved walking through a season of depression and learning how to reach out and again, ask for help. That seems to be the theme of my life and I’m ok with it! It’s been a process of counseling, community and even asking the Lord where He’s been in the midst of it. There have been lots of tears, doubts, and songs that no one will ever hear but I’ve seen God’s faithfulness in the middle of that season in such a beautiful way…it’s only led me to trust Him more. 

That’s really what inspired my latest song “Middle”. I wanted to honestly tell the story of wrestling through the questions and speak to the importance of topics like depression. So many times, we tend to skip over mental health struggles and assume that these things will just get better on their own or that God only cares about the spiritual aspects of our life. More than ever though, I’m learning that God cares about us as a WHOLE person…our mental state is no exception! 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
At the end of the day, I’m a worshipper and I love expressing my love for Jesus through songwriting! I love to help others learn to do the same as well. So much of my time in music has been spent working with student bands, children’s choirs, and even a special needs school along the way. It’s instilled in me the desire to train up others to use their gifts too. There have been days that have been incredibly rewarding but also days that have felt feel really hidden and unseen. I’m convinced though that investing in others, especially students, will be some of the work I look back on and treasure the most! 

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I still think that one of the biggest adventures (or “risks” if you will) in my story has been when my husband and I moved our family to Nashville. We were confidant God was calling us here, but it felt like such a huge risk…we had really young kids at the time, nowhere to live, no family in the city, and barely a job lined up. What if we moved here and were unable to find community or blew through our savings because jobs hadn’t worked out? I remember thinking, “this is either the biggest step of faith we’ve ever taken or the dumbest thing we’ve ever done!”. 

Ha! 

Sometimes it can fee hard to tell the difference between the 2, but I would say that humility has been a huge asset here…even in risk-taking. The ability to humbly listen to those who’ve walked a similar road or who want what’s best for you should never be casually dismissed. While I never want the “fear of failure” to be my motivator in my life, I also don’t want to ignore wisdom when it’s staring me in the face! 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachaelthomasmusic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDGdZy8VUUXjM6SuJOpznDg/videos
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/759e6idi2HfoTT3XD1yADV?si=GVYwG1y7QtikOdHw9RuZvg

Image Credits
Andrew Morton