Wynonna Judd is celebrating her 25th anniversary in the music industry. She released a new CD called “Sing: Chapter 1” in February, which includes cover songs from some of her favorites including Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and Tammy Wynette’s “Til I Get It Right.”
At this point, Wynonna is probably known more as a cultural icon than for her songs, and she played to that in a savvy way recently as she gave an interview to theboot.com.
My favorite part of the interview was her response when asked who inspires her the most. “The person I meet who is in a process of recovery and is reaching out for help,” she said. “I’m inspired by their willingness to embrace change and to take a chance on becoming better and not bitter.”
Whether it was a headline grabber or just coincidence, she was also asked about a recent dream she’d had and what she thought it meant. “I’m dreaming a lot about dying,” she offered. “I think it’s because I’m walking through a season of dying unto self, so that I can be reborn, to become what God truly intends for me to be.”

The headlines–including the one on aol.com which distributed theboot.com’s interview to its wide audience–focused on what her dreams tell her about death. What they missed was that she was trying to talk about having a truly spiritual life, in terms that the Apostle Paul would have been proud of.
It appears to me that Ms. Judd is not only promoting her new CD, but also speaking authentically about a bona fide spiritual journey. And that’s refreshing! I hope her CD does well, and that she has even more chances to share her story with a wider audience who could be inspired by it.