Sandi Patti
Article by: Stephanie L. Malson
For years, thousands flocked to churches, and arenas to hear the woman commonly known as, “The Voice”, Sandi Patty. Her passion in her performances often left her audiences in awe. At the height of her career, she was one of the highest paid and most recognized gospel recording artists. While her career reached an unexpected level, her personal life was crumbling around her. Word of her divorce from her husband and manager, John Helvering, and the confession of a scandalous affair with Don Peslis, who she eventually married, rocked the Christian community. Sandi watched as backs were turned, and the ash of disappointment covered her career.
Within the last three years, God has opened the doors once sealed with unforgiveness; proving to Sandi and the world that God’s forgiveness is more important than man’s.
Women of Faith, a non denominational national women’s conference invited Sandi Patty to participate in 2005. Over the last two years, the conference has infused Sandi’s career with new energy. Today, Sandi has become a permanent member of the Women of Faith team sharing her story of redemption and restoration to a welcoming audience of over 18,000 women.
Sandi never imagined the lesson God would use to inspire thousands of women today would come from the darkest season of her life.
She has been divorced from her first husband for 15 years but still refuses to discuss her previous marriage or the reasons behind the divorce. It is evident that the divorce, the affair, and the fallout from both have had a tremendous affect on her life. The magnitude of the criticism, judgment, and rejection left her emotionally destroyed. “Had I not had children, I would have made a choice to end my life,” She says. “I was making choices that were truly moving me farther away from the Lord.”
Prior to making the public confession, she worked with her pastor on a biblical restoration process. Sandi didn’t just ask God for forgiveness through repentance but she chose to make a complete lifestyle change. One of the first choices Sandi made was to set healthy boundaries in her relationships and use wisdom.”
Looking back, she understands why the Christian community reacted the way they did. “If you declare yourself a Christian, there’s a certain standard that people expect you to follow. When you don’t, there’s understandably a lot of hurt and disappointment.”
With the support of her family and the church, she experienced a process of restitution. Sandi took ownership for the mistakes she could not erase. She went back and attempted to make amends. As a part of the process, Sandi made a long list of names. Her first act of restitution was to speak with the people that were directly affected by her actions. During very raw and tender conversations, Sandi listened to their hurt and asked each person for forgiveness.
The next step in the process was restoration. This was a hard concept for Sandi to grasp. She had to learn that it’s okay to accept God’s grace and forgiveness. “It’s not only true for people I talk to but it’s also true for me.” God began restoring the broken relationships in her life. He healed her relationship with Don, which eventually led to their marriage, and her children, who needed to work through their hurt and disappointment.
It has taken years for Sandi to accept God’s forgiveness for her actions. She says, “I think the process of a person forgiving themselves is always on going.”
She reflects, “One Sunday; I remember my pastor saying, ‘Maybe you’ve come to church and you don’t really want to say hi to anybody or meet anybody. I just want you to know that God knows where you are and he’s ready to help you pick up the pieces.” Sandi realized then that she knew she was ready to surrender. “I needed to fall forward in the truth.” She says. She knew when she began to peel back the layers of sin and shame she would expose herself to a cleansing freedom.
Sandi recalls a lesson she’d learned early in life. One day, Sandi, her brothers, and her father stood outside of their home in
When Sandi found herself lying prostrate before God with all of her sins at His feet, she felt His spirit say, “Sandi, you’ve gotten yourself in a position now where you’re going to fall either way. If you fall backwards, away from me, I can’t help you. But if you fall forward I’ll be there to catch you and my arms will surround you.” Sandi decided then that she didn’t care about the rumors swirling around her. “All I cared about was being right and clean before God.” She says.
Sandi admits that even today she experiences judgments because of past mistakes. She understands that her choices impacted her career because they went against everything she sang about. She is clearly ready to start a new chapter in her career. “God has done so much healing and if it could help somebody then I’m happy to talk about it. There comes a time for restoration closure and that means I can move on.”
Women of Faith has breathed new life into Sandi’s career. Her latest CD was released in the spring, 2007 titled, Songs for the Journey.
Sandi is currently working on her fourth book titled Layers – Uncovering and Experiencing God’s Ideals of Me. In this book, she uncovers the wounds and pain we layer with alcohol, infidelity, or addiction. She says, “We think of scarlet letters. Adultery is not the only scarlet letter. As we begin to peel off those layers, we find that the ultimate scarlet letter is A for atonement.”
Today, Sandi Patty strives to discover what it means to be a woman of God. She describes herself as, “somebody who loves my Heavenly father so fully and deeply and everyday understands that He loves me.”
