Finding the Right Path Even When We Make Missteps
“Have you ever felt like something was chasing you down? Like it was after you? Despite all that you may have done to shift gears or deeming yourself unworthy, it kept finding you?”
Photo by Ibuki Tsubo
Ladies! Guess what? I have a testimony. I’m on Broadway! I’m. On. Broadway! ME! What? I’m actually doing theater in Times Square in a bona fide Broadway show. They done let ya girl IN! There are other Broadway actors, crew, and creative team members that surround me daily. (I even get to share the stage with an actual superstar.)
What is life? How did I get here? How does a girl from the ‘hood in Cleveland acquire two degrees in singing and end up standing across from people eight times a week that she would normally only encounter on Google?
How am I making my Broadway debut in September 2021 in Waitress, a musical that closed in January 2020? A show I auditioned for four years ago, and landed even though I was auditioning for something COMPLETELY different? Crazy, right? Maybe, but let’s talk about when opportunity meets preparation meets restoration meets redirection -- all carefully orchestrated by God.
DIRECTED STEPS
Have you recently received a new opportunity? Maybe an opportunity is chasing you down right now that you’ve always wanted. Maybe you realize that everything so far has prepared you for this, or maybe you can start to see the pieces coming together. If you allowed yourself, perhaps you could see that God has been directing your steps or redirecting your path. Are you ready to collide with destiny? Is it your time to shine?
I am from the inner city of Cleveland, Ohio. I grew up afraid of my own voice, intimidated by it. Something in me knew that it was created for a larger purpose that was beyond my immediate environments, and would require all of me to maximize it. I also was aware of how different it was from those around me. Those powerhouse gospel singers who could tear the church down? Yeah, that wasn’t me. Mine was powerful in a different way. Its audience would be found in a different venue, and that arena found me.
Freshman year of high school, the religion/drama/speech and debate teacher heard me singing in the hallway and asked me to audition for the musical. I responded, “What’s a musical?” I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but that high school production of Little Shop of Horrors at St. Peter Chanel High School opened a world to me that I didn’t know I needed.
Fast forward, and now I have a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Theater from Baldwin Wallace University. I was rejected the first time I applied, and had to endure six years of undergraduate studies. I’ve coupled that with a Master of Music degree from New York University, graduating during a global pandemic, mind you. There’s so much more to this story, but I’ve only got 600 words, y’all!
Have you ever felt like something was chasing you down? Like it was after you? Despite all that you may have done to shift gears or deeming yourself unworthy, it kept finding you?
That’s how I feel about music theater. It found me. Moments in life when I didn’t know what to do next or knowingly went in the wrong direction, God would order my steps back to him, and then put me back on the right path. In those crucial moments, we have to let God lead us, trusting that He knows best. Fear can talk us right out of destiny, but God knows how to straighten our crooked paths and work all our missteps together for our good. If you aren’t familiar with it, look up Romans 8:28 (The Passion Translation) for confirmation of this truth. It says, “So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his divine purpose.”
A REDEEMED SITUATION
When I transferred out of the high school where I first learned about the art form of music theater, my grades plummeted. As a result, I didn’t have an opportunity to do any theater for a while, but God redeemed the situation. I spent two years at a state college where I learned exactly what I needed, both for music theater -- and more importantly -- who I was within the art.
I then transferred to my dream university and earned my BM and moved to New York. Not knowing how I would make ends meet in New York City and scraping just to get by, I was later able to tour the country with musicals like Wicked and The Color Purple. That definitely helped me to get back on track financially and gain the experience on stage that I needed. God was working everything out!
Having to defer a year before going to graduate school meant I would graduate in 2020. Of course, no one knew that a global pandemic would be waiting for us that year. But once again, God intervened. What redemption that 18 months later, I’m back on stage. Not just any stage either; I’m on THE STAGE! I’m on Broadway y’all, and it’s just so sweet.
I can promise you that God knows what he’s doing in your life. He’s predetermined your steps for a future filled with hope and abundance (see Jeremiah 29:11). If you need the reminder that he’s got you, here it is, sis. God has got you, and he won’t let go. “For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
Giving all glory to God, Nyla Watson is a dedicated actor, concert artist, voice teacher and coach, competition singer and writer in the New York City community and a recent grad of New York University (NYU) where she received her Masters in Music Theater Voice. She gave her life to Christ at the age of 4-years-old and rededicated her life at 21, but began a journey to relentless obedience at 25. She attributes her successes to her faith, her parents, her education, and her professional and personal influences. Acts 4:7-12. www.queennyla.com