Cindy Garrett (Winkles) began singing at the young age of three in the small town of Loganville, Georgia, where she grew up. With her short pixie haircut and wearing her Sunday dress, Cindy loved to go to church and sing songs about the Lord while her grandmother accompanied her on the piano. Being a faithful grandparent and the community piano teacher, Cindy’s grandmother introduced her to the arts by teaching her piano, taking her to the symphony, the ballet, and listening to classics such as Peter and the Wolf. Although Cindy wanted to be doing other things, her parents refused to let her quit taking piano lessons.
On Christmas Day in 1972, Cindy gave her heart to Jesus Christ and the Lord blessed her gift of singing. At the age of twelve, she was allowed to join the adult church choir since her voice was so mature. During her high school years, Cindy competed in region and state competitions for girl’s solo and took the championships her sophomore, junior, and senior years. Her senior year of high school in 1981, she competed vocally and won a scholarship to Shorter College. Her freshman year, Cindy won Female Vocalist among competing colleges in Georgia.
As a music major, Cindy hoped to one day sing in the Metropolitan Opera, but within a few months realized that was not the path she wanted to take in her her life. Shortly thereafter, she changed colleges and earned a degree in Office Administration. She got married, had two sons, worked hard and somewhere in the midst of life, got lost. In 1998, she failed at her marriage of fifteen years and hit rock bottom. Depressed, disillusioned, separated from her family, and having severe panic attacks, Cindy cried out to God for help. It was during this time that she grew very close to Him, the way she had as a child. She made a vow to God that if He would help her put her life back together again, she would help troubled women get back on the right path toward Him.
Today, Cindy lives in Columbus, Georgia with her husband, singer/songwriter Ken Rondell (Winkles). She is reunited with and shares a close relationship with her family, and has been blessed with five beautiful grandchildren. She is deeply involved in women’s ministry and through dreams given by God, Cindy composes and writes about His redemption, love, and the peace that only comes from knowing and living for Him.
One of her fans wrote, “When Cindy’s voice rings forth, something of a majestic nature invades your spirit, and you are literally wafted into the inner sanctum of God’s holy peace and presence. Her ministry is not as an entertainer – it is the essence of a sacred holiness that brings to pass Ephesians 2:6, “And (God) hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.””
Feel free to reach out to Cindy at cindycreated2worship@gmail.com
“For every one of us, heritage is an important part of who we are, our identity. But before we were, God, our first heritage, was and still is our firm foundation. To God belongs all the glory.” Cindy Garrett (Winkles)