The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

For the Christian who believes God must have forgotten them because their prayers for love have gone unanswered, a local singer has two new anthems to encourage and uplift.

Veola Stewart, who describes herself as a contemporary gospel artist, has released two new singles “My True Love” and “So Wonderful”.

With her music she seeks to encourage listeners to remain faithful to the Lord as they wait for love.

“ ‘My True Love’ was written by my father, V C Simms, ‘The Cultural Bahamian’. He wrote this song after I told him about what I was experiencing with my soon-to-be husband. He gave me the song as a gift to sing to my husband on my wedding day. Immediately, I got to work on arranging the song and eventually sang it at my wedding,” she told Tribune Religion.

Her next song, “So Wonderful”, she said, was truly inspired by the Lord.

“It’s a soulful love ballad that speaks of having a love experience that is so amazing and so wonderful. When I wrote this song I was so amazed. The lyrics say that ‘I didn’t know that a love like this could exist, I didn’t know that love could be so wonderful’. God’s amazing grace blessed me this way with a love that was so wonderful,” she said.

Both songs were written in 2010, the year Veola got married. But she never felt like it was time to release them until now.

“What I want my listeners to know is that they can find true love. They might be hoping and praying for someone. I was praying, and even though I was located in a very remote location, God was able to hear my prayers, therefore I was able to meet husband. I want to let people know that nothing great comes easy. So my husband and I dated for a short period of time and the Lord allowed the experience to be magical and that is how I came up with the song ‘So Wonderful’. I had never experienced love like this before,” she said.

And even though the experience was one that she relished, as she got older Veola received a revelation about an even greater love. She fell into a deeper union with Christ, which she said supersedes any human love.

“As you know, life is not perfect, neither are marriages. I went into a marriage with my preconceptions and expectations, and my husband probably had his own version of expectations, so that was a problem. Throughout the years I was able to fall deeper in love with Christ and He became my true love. I was able to love Him. I was able to appreciate and love my husband for who he is and not who I imagined him to be. It was then I was able to find happiness and joy that no one could take away. It was only then we both were able to experience true love and once again that ‘So Wonderful’ experience,” she said.

What she likes most about the song is that it features an expression of God’s love for the world.

“These songs speak of a journey. Some of us had to pray for someone special, and we might have waited awhile. We might have been placed in a rural location, but God heard our prayers and we were able to find love,” she said.

Veola previously released her debut single “100 Metres” in 2014 and then her sophomore single “Pledge” in 2016; both were co-written by Julien Believe.

Her third single, “Keep Moving”, came out in the summer of 2016. To this day, she encourages her listeners to “keep moving” towards their destiny, because it is only “100 metres” away as they “pledge” their lives to God.

“I am currently working on a few new songs and eventually an album. This year I would like to do more collaborations and performances. I want to inspire other singers and songwriters to continue to fulfil their purpose. We are only here for a moment in time and while we are here we must make a difference,” she said.

Veola’s music is available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and all digital mediums.