For over twenty years, people have loved listening to Twila Paris. Her music spans the spectrum, from soothing to stirring, from comforting to challenging. Her lyrics open listener’s eyes to eternal truths in everyday life.

    In a recent interview, Twila’s words brought eternity into the now, when she asked, "Would you excuse me a minute? I think I hear him." "Him" is Twila’s new baby son.
    We recently spoke to Twila not as a veteran Christian recording artist with nineteen recordings and numerous awards under her belt. No, for a brief time, we spoke about wanting children, becoming mothers, and how parenthood allows us to see the Father through new eyes.

    Q:  First, congratulations on your new baby.

    Twila: Thank you.

    Q:  When was he born? How big was he?

    Twila:  He was born April 29th (2001) and weighed seven pounds, eleven ounces.

    Q:  And his name is…?

    Twila:  We named him Jack Paris Wright, but we call him J.P.

    Q:  Let’s see, at about seven months, what’s he doing now? Scooting? Trying to get on his knees? Rolling over?

    Twila:  He’s finally mastering turning over. The other day he began flipping over, but couldn’t go any further. (laughs) That made him pretty mad. I spent most of that day flipping him back over. It was a relief when he finally figured it out.

    Q:  When you were pregnant, did you have any concerns about motherhood?

    Twila: Actually, I wasn't too worried. I had grown up with younger siblings, so I was comfortable around babies.

    Q:  What were you not prepared for?

    Twila:  Well, even though I had taken care of my younger siblings, I wasn’t prepared for not having time off. I knew about babies, but I wasn’t ready for the 24/7 of caring for them. It never stops.

    Q:  When my babies were little, it was difficult for me to have a quiet time. Just as I would sit down with my Bible, someone would wake up.

    Twila:  I know what you mean. I don’t have as much time right now for quiet Bible-reading. But I do pray more. It doesn’t take two hands to pray.

    Q:  What is one of your favorite things about motherhood?

    Twila:  I love first thing in the morning when I get him out of his crib. He’s not quite awake yet and snuggles his head against my shoulder. It’s so quiet, so intimate.

    Q:  I understand you found out you were pregnant while working on your children’s album (Bedtime Prayers, Lullabies, and Peaceful Worship – Sparrow Records)

    Twila:  Yes, I did. (laughs) You know what? If someone had told me that I would be having my first baby when I was forty- two, I wouldn’t have believed them. Like many young women, I had a calendar of my life all planned. I’d be married by this age, have a baby boy by this age and a few years later, a baby girl. When all my other friends were having babies and I wasn’t, I would tell myself, "Someday, Jack and I will have a baby." It just hasn’t happened yet."

    But, there was one day when I was thirty-five, when I faced the fact, "It might never happen." I thought, "There are a couple of minutes left on my biological clock, so it wasn’t completely out of the question." (laughs). I realized that I could choose to be bitter or choose to trust the Lord. I had to ask myself, "Do I or do I not believe that God loves me, that I can trust myself to the life He has for me?" Instead of praying, "Lord, please give us a baby," Jack and I began praying "Lord, please work Your will in our lives."

    I had always wanted to produce an album of lullabies. For about ten years, I had been writing little songs for that project. Last summer, everything came together for me to finally start working on this project. I was very excited, because I felt like the Lord was giving me things to say to other people’s children. It was also like a final step of making peace with God’s will. It wasn’t too long into the project when I found out that I was pregnant.

    Q:  We heard that you were pregnant when you were on the "Child of Promise" tour.

    Twila:  Yes, I was. I played Elizabeth. (laughs) God has a sense of humor, doesn’t He?

    Q:  Besides your lullaby album, you’ve done another project for children. Your song, "God is in Control," has been chosen to be one of the next books released in the Dove Awards® Signature Series (Broadman & Holman).

    Twila:  Yes, I recently finished recording the narration for that book.

    Q:  Twila, has becoming a mother taught you anything new about the Lord?

    Twila:  I’m beginning to understand more about the unconditional love that God has for us as our Father. I’m also learning that His ways are better than our ways. When I found out I was pregnant, it was almost as if God said to me, "Look, I have a calendar for your life too." And His is a lot bigger than ours. And it never runs behind.