We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maria Segerholm a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Maria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the story of how you went from this being just an idea to making it into something real.
I’ve loved music and singing for as long as I can remember, and I started writing songs at an early age. I grew up in a small church where I had the opportunity to hone my gifts. I sang a lot in church, in school and other venues. When I was a teenager, I started longing for using my musical gifts to spread the joy, hope and love found in God, to others. I was dreaming about pursuing music professionally, and I felt God spoke to me about a music ministry calling. It’s been a bumpy road though, and it didn’t look anything like I thought it would. Not many doors opened. Sometimes I got my hopes up, just to see them crushed. I wondered what God’s plan for my music was, and for many years my dream felt as far away as ever.
When I started high school I applied to a music profile. I spent three years honing my singing and musical knowledge. During this time I got problems with my vocal chords which was really difficult, and I couldn’t understand why it happened. It got better towards the end of my education, and as a special project my last year I managed to record an album that I released in 2008. I then went by my first and middle name, Maria Sahar. I recorded 10 of my original songs; 8 songs in English, 1 song in Swedish and 1 song in Farsi.
After high school, I got married and I worked in a watch and jewelry store while figuring out what was next. Music was still a part of my life and I continued to write songs and sing in public occasionally. But music was more in the background. I became a mother in 2009 and after spending about a year home with my daughter, I decided that I wanted to study again. I’ve always loved to support other people who are going through difficulties and that lead me to the choice of applying to the programme in Social Work. I had a break from studying when we welcomed our second child into the world in 2012, so it took until 2016 until I completed my education and received my degree of bachelor of science in social work. I worked in a small church at first, but then I started working as a family therapist and I’ve been working there for 7,5 years now. Broadly speaking, I meet children, youths and their families and I support and help them to change communication- and behavioural patterns. It’s a very meaningful, challenging, fun and sometimes difficult work. It feels like the perfect job alongside being an artist and songwriter. I want to spread hope in both roles.
In 2021 I wrote a song called “Healing Rain” as a prayer for a close friend who suffered from the chronical disease M.E/CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) for many years. I felt led to release the song so that others who wait for a healing hopefully would experience hope, comfort and strength through the song. My friend Richelle Fri had previously painted a beautiful blue butterfly, the M.E symbol, and with her permission I used it for the cover art. “Healing Rain” will always be a special song to me as I wrote it for my dear friend, but what makes it even more special is that I get to share my friend’s testimony of healing alongside the song. A few months after the song released my friend was miraculously healed. Praise God! I am so grateful and encouraged by her testimony.
Releasing “Healing Rain” was the start of going into a new season of music ministry, and I have released songs regularly since then. After 13 years of waiting, questioning and not understanding, I finally felt that it was time to release music again, and step out into the calling I felt God spoke to me about as a teenager. With hindsight, I can see that the waiting season helped me grow and it prepared me for what was to come. I waited for direction and while waiting, I found true joy in God. That is what my song called “A New Song” is about. It’s the story of my music journey.
My longing is that the songs I share resonate, bring hope and point to Jesus. Music is still something I do beside my work as a family therapist, and I’m still dreaming for the opportunity to at least have music as a part time job sometime in the future. At the same time, I’m very content at where I’m at now. I get to release songs, write songs every week with amazing people from all over the world, connect with people who are following my journey, collaborate with other artists, and share my songs live in different contexts. For that, I’m so grateful!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’m a wife, mother of three, and a Christian independent artist and songwriter from Jönköping in Sweden. I’m also a social worker who work with family treatment. I would describe my music as soulful music with influences from many genres such as pop, RnB, gospel music and country music. Some artists that have influenced my singing and songwriting over the years are Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Casting Crowns and Jeremy Camp to name a few. Ever since I was a teenager, my longing has been to serve others through music. I draw inspiration for my lyrics from the Bible and from life experiences. I’ve been through a lot of trials and I often write vulnerable songs about what I experience. My prayer is that the songs would mean something for others who are struggling.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Like I shared previously, I’ve been through a lot of trials, and my faith has carried me through them which I believe has built my resilience. One of the trials was back in 2011 when I was pregnant with our second child and early in my pregnancy suffered from a blood clot in one leg and also suspected in my lungs. It was an extremely difficult time with high pain and I was both scared and sad. At the most critical stage, both my husband and I were worried that my babý and I wouldn’t survive. I remember praying to God as I was laying unresponsive in the hospital bed. After a ten-day hospital stay, I felt better and was able to go home. I was on blood thinners the rest of the pregnancy and I was struggling with my health until a week or so after our son was born. The labor was difficult as I was physically and mentally exhausted, but our son was born healthy and alert for which we are so grateful.
Another recent and ongoing trial started just about 5 months ago. I woke up one morning with symptoms that I knew was not good. There was a point when I couldn’t lift my arm, and together with the other symptoms I started suspecting a stroke. It turned out I was right. I had another blood clot but this time in my brain, which caused a rare type of stroke called CVT (cerebral venous thrombosis). I was hospitalized one week, and during that week I met two other patients who I could share my faith with. I was seriously so encouraged by my hospital stay. I really felt that God was carrying me through it all. I felt peace that surpasses understanding. I have some health struggles remaining from the stroke, but I’m so grateful it’s not worse, and I take one day at a time and trust for better days. In the middle of my recovery, my full lament EP “From the Ashes” (including the song “From the Ashes” co-written with Tom taylor) and a complementary devotional was released and I don’t think the timing of it was a coincidence. My latest release “Lead Me To The Rock” co-written and performed with Tom Mottershead released just a couple of weeks ago, and the timing for this release also amazes me. What better time to release an EP full of heartfelt songs born from trials and another hopeful single, than when you’re currently praising your way through yet another trial?
I obviously wouldn’t wish anyone to go through the trials I’ve been through, but with hindsight I can see that God has used them to strengthen me, increase my resilience and grow my faith. One song from my EP previously mentioned is “My Faith Survives”, and that is my life testimony. Trough all the trials, my resilience has increased massively and my faith in God is stronger than ever.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Many of my songs are born in despair but they all have a message of hope. Hearing stories of how my songs have helped or impacted someone else’s life, how the songs have brought a ray of light in dark situations, is definitely the most rewarding aspect of this journey. It’s so humbling. My work as a family therapist and artist have a lot in common. It’s all about helping other people and bringing hope. I feel so blessed by both my work, and by the fact that I get to write and release songs that God places on my heart!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariasegerholmofficial
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariasegerholmofficial/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mariasegerholmofficial
Image Credits
Tom Taylor, Tom Mottershead, Richelle Fri