Millard and Linda Fuller’s granddaughter Sophie Davina Luedi inspires with new song “Storms”

May 20, 2020 update: Sophie Davina’s “Storms” is now available for streaming or purchase on such major music platforms as Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon Music and Amazon.com.

Many people would be thrilled to excel at a single artistic talent. Sophie Davina Luedi, though, has multiple such skills.

The granddaughter of Millard and Linda Fuller recently returned home to Florida after studying dance in California. While in California, she helped craft some of the illustrations for her mother Georgia’s children’s book “Bobby’s House.” Now comes “Storms,” a contemporary Christian song written and performed by Sophie Davina, her artist name. She has released a demo of the spiritually uplifting song that sounds far more like a finished product than a demo.

“Storms” is about leaning on God’s strength in difficult times, so it seems to be a song crafted specifically for a country and world facing a pandemic. That, however, is pure coincidence … or providence.

“I wrote ‘Storms’ back in September 2019 before I had ever heard of COVID-19,” Sophie says. “I was feeling overwhelmed by my responsibilities and the challenges of living and working in California far from my family. This song helped me to look to God as my peace and anchor in the midst of hardship. I definitely believe that God orchestrated the timing for ‘Storms’ to be released. I finished the demo track in February, right before a serious health crisis made me to move home to Florida.

“Once again, God’s timing was perfect and I arrived home only weeks before ‘shelter in place’ started,” she adds.  “After resting and regaining my strength, my mom encouraged me to release the demo of ‘Storms’ early. God works in incredible ways, and my prayer is that He will use this song to encourage many people affected by the coronavirus.”

Fuller Center for Housing veterans may have heard Sophie sing before, including at the 2014 naming of Millard Fuller Boulevard in honor of her grandfather in Americus, Georgia, and at 2015’s Lind-A-Hand women’s blitz build in Lanett, Alabama, honoring her grandmother — an event at which she and sister Jasmine worked alongside their grandmother all week long. Her family, though, has heard many more performances.

“As a toddler, I would run around with my cassette player, singing into the attached microphone!” Sophie recalls. “Throughout my childhood, I enjoyed playing on my family’s old upright piano and composing little melodies. Music was always my hobby and the thought never crossed my mind that I could pursue it as a career.”

It was while excelling at dance school in California that her voice decided to steal some attention.

“What really kick-started my writing spree was a community group of musicians at my church in California,” Sophie says. “A bunch of us would get together every other Monday for ‘Jam Sesh.’ We played Christian songs, secular songs, came up with chord progressions, and shared originals. It was such a blast and we often stayed way later than planned! I was motivated to learn more, challenge myself, and bring new music to each session.”

“Storms” was actually spurred by a mistake — again, perhaps a providential error.

“It happened when I was practicing ‘We Are the Champions’ by Queen that I hit the wrong chord,” she remembers. “It sounded so nice that I wrote ‘Storms’ from it within 30 minutes! When I started playing originals for my friends and family, I realized that God might have blessed me with these gifts for a reason.”

Last month, Sophie experienced a health scare related to Hashimoto’s disease — an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system turns against the body’s own tissues. It is seven times more likely to affect women than men, and there are treatments but no cure. (Sophie allowed us to share her condition because “My health issues are a part of my testimony and I want to encourage women who suffer from the same thing.”) The scare nearly left her in a coma and spurred her to come home to Florida to be with her family and consider her future plans.

“Over the past few months, I have been praying a lot about God’s purpose for me,” she says. “Music has always been a big part of my life, but now I believe that God is leading me towards writing, recording, and publishing. After writing ‘Storms,’ I realized that I had so much to write about and started working on an album. My home studio is almost finished and I can’t wait to start recording! I pray that I can encourage many people with songs that come from my personal experience and faith in Jesus.”

The song “Storms” is exactly 3 minutes and 16 seconds in length — yes, 3:16 like John 3:16. Clever huh?

“I had no idea that the song was 3:16 long until someone pointed it out to me four days after release!” Sophie says. “I was so excited that God had arranged yet another coincidence! Honestly, if I had tried to make that happen, it probably wouldn’t have worked. Praise God!”