JJ Heller's musical career was birthed through the death of a dream to play college basketball. A disappointing basketball debut her freshman year of college led her to pick up a guitar during her sophomore year of school. That same year, JJ met her future husband, David Heller, and shortly thereafter the couple began playing her songs in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“I grew up loving creative writing. Once I learned to play the guitar, song writing came with it,” said JJ, who has been a full-time singer/songwriter since the spring of 2003. Five years and four full-length records later, JJ’s acoustic-folk sound and heartfelt lyrics have netted the Nashville-based artist a loyal following.

“I feel called to be honest about what’s going on in my life--to talk and sing about the struggles that I face so that my listeners realize that they are not alone,” explains JJ. “For some reason, Christians (including myself) sometimes think, ‘if I’m following the Lord and doing the best I can, that life will be easy,’ and it’s not. That’s where grace comes in, and that’s where we grow.”

Music and grace aren’t the only things growing in the Heller household these days. JJ and David delivered a baby girl, Lucy, in December 2008. JJ says the themes of hope and redemption showcased on their new album, Painted Red, largely drew from the life experience of soon becoming parents.

“We have the choice to live in fear, or to live in the hope that God is in every moment with us,” JJ says. “That’s one of the major themes of this season in my life.”

I got the opportunity to interview JJ and her husband David Heller about "Your Hands," my favorite song from Painted Red. You can listen to our entire interview here.

Please share the background that led you to write the song "Your Hands."

Dave and I co-wrote the song with Katie Herzig. The song is mostly about my struggle with panic attacks and anxiety. At the time we wrote the song, I was in my deepest, darkest place. The opening line of the song is, “I have unanswered prayers,” and I would wake up everyday praying for God to take away my panic and anxiety. For whatever reason, God chose not to take that from me. What’s so amazing is that God used this song by a dancer named Diana Drexler who chose to use the song on the show So You Think You Can Dance, and now millions of people have heard this song. For me, knowing this song came from my desperate cry to intervene in my life. God didn’t answer my prayer the way I wanted Him to, but He wanted to impact millions of people because of my struggle.

Please tell me about the Bible verses you used in writing the song or a life verse that connects to the song.

Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

How can listeners apply that message when they listen to the song?

Most of the story of the book of Job in the Bible is that God used Job’s struggles to teach him and Job’s friends that God allowed Job’s suffering to break him down and build him back up again. We wanted to tie in our faith as Christians to our struggles in this song.

As new parents, God has taught us that He loves Lucy more than we do. Now that she is walking and falling down and getting injured, I have a hard time letting that happen. God is showing me that He is good and He is in control. Nothing is a surprise to Him, and God’s plans for us are more than we can understand. God’s answer to my prayer was to wait and trust Him and let Him take control over my life.

Here are the lyrics:

I have unanswered prayers
I have trouble I wish wasn’t there
And I have asked a thousand ways
That you would take my pain away
You would take my pain away

I am trying to understand
How to walk this weary land
Make straight the paths that crooked lie
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands

When you walked upon the earth
You healed the broken, lost and hurt
I know you hate to see me cry
One day you will set all things right
Yeah, one day you will set all things right

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands

Your hands that shaped the world
Are holding me
They hold me still

I absolutely love this song and can’t get enough of JJ’s sincere and sweet vocals and the hope-filled message of the song. The last verse includes the Biblical Truth that “one day You will set all things right.” The song is about hope. Our present struggles are not permanent. One day we’ll be able to look back and see how the Lord uses our struggles to affect people for His purposes.