Jana Kramer reflects on life-changing baptism, starring in faith-filled Christmas film ‘The One’

By Leah MarieAnn Klett, Entertainment Editor Thursday, October 08, 2026

Country music star and actress Jana Kramer had always considered herself a believer, but it wasn't until one of the most painful seasons of her life that her relationship with God became a lifeline.

Following her divorce in April 2021, the mother of three found herself confronting a profound sense of loneliness and began to more fully embrace the faith she had long professed.

“I've always been a believer. I just didn't really accept Him, like, fully there until after my divorce because I was just like at my most alone,” Kramer told The Christian Post. “I was just like, OK, maybe I'm not alone, you know, and maybe He is here.”

After getting baptized, the “Why Ya Wanna” singer started doing the “deeper work” of learning to trust God and His plan for her life, even when she didn't understand what He was doing. 

“He has a greater plan,” she reflected. “As a planner, it's really hard for me because I want to know, 'Why isn't this happening yet?' and 'Why don't I have this?' I've asked, and I begged … but if it's Your will … that's when I have to like step back and go, ‘OK, it's not in the cards right now. It's not in His plan, and there has to be a bigger plan.’”

Learning to trust God despite pain and uncertainty gave Kramer a deep connection to the themes at the heart of “The One,” a new faith-based Christmas drama in which grief and questions about God's presence amid suffering play central roles.

In the film, Kramer plays a mother struggling to hold her family together after the death of one of her twin daughters. Her surviving daughter, Alexis, is angry, rebellious and wrestling with why God allowed her sister to suffer and die. By the film's conclusion, Alexis' journey leads her back to faith and, like Kramer in her own life, to baptism. 

For Kramer, becoming a Christian did not make those difficult questions disappear, and her faith still requires intentionality. Church is now an important anchor for the 42-year-old singer, along with worship music. 

“I should probably pick up my Bible more and do those things,” she said. “I'm not as disciplined as I should be and as I want to be.”

“I do go to church mostly every Sunday, and I feel like ... that is my moment,” Kramer said. “That at least is a disciplined once a week that I am actively talking to Him and praying and worshiping.. ... 'Holy Forever’ is our anthem and our song in our family. We listen to it all the time.”

Hawk Hill Pictures' “The One,” opening in theaters Nov. 5, stars Kramer alongside Martin Sheen, Olivia Sanabia, Nick Zano and Noah Redclay. 

Directed by Lisa Arnold and produced by Erin Elizabeth Cook and Adam Ropp, the film follows Hawk, an 18-year-old who ages out of the Chicago foster care system and sets out during the Christmas season to see the lighting of a massive Christmas tree known as the One. Ashlyn Tomlin, daughter of Christian singer Chris Tomlin, also makes her feature-film debut.

Facing homelessness and trauma, Hawk crosses paths with Jefferson, a mysterious traveler played by Sheen, and Alexis, a runaway teenager grieving the loss of her twin sister. Their lives eventually converge in a story highlighting grief, foster care, family, faith and redemption.

For Kramer, the film's willingness to wrestle with suffering without offering easy answers felt especially relevant to her story. Questions, she stressed, aren’t incompatible with faith, but can be a part of the sanctification process.

“Why do bad things happen to really good people?” she said. “Why would God take away a little girl? ... It doesn't make sense. My pastor always says, keep asking questions because that's how your faith grows.”

Still, this film “doesn't just force [faith] down your throat,” Kramer said, adding: “I think those are the movies that I appreciate where it's just real life, and there's messaging in there.”

Some answers may remain beyond human understanding, she said. While that's not an easy thing to grasp, she said the alternative to faith is deeply isolating and lonely.

“We won't understand it until we get there. We really won't," she said. “You just got to keep ... having that faith because at the end of the day, it's like you either have it or you don't. And I've had it where I don't, and it's been miserable, miserable and lonely. I'd rather ... ask the questions and keep believing because the alternative is something that I don't want to feel again.”

Kramer even has an ampersand tattoo on her wrist that she dubbed her “healing tattoo,” a reminder that seemingly conflicting emotions can coexist.

“You can be sad, and you can be hopeful,” she said. “I love the fact that my character was holding both. … For me, I love complication in things. I'm the biggest believer of holding two feelings at once.”

The film also asks the question: why does God redeem some circumstances while allowing others to remain broken? The country star recalled asking God that very question, specifically, why God had not restored things she prayed for, including her previous marriage, years ago. 

“Why didn't He redeem my marriage?” Kramer said. “Why did this happen? Like, my kids are in separate homes. … But we have a beautiful family now.”

“We are all going through tough things. We are all struggling. We all have our hard moments,” she added. “And we have someone that died for our sins, and that is there for us always. He's wanting us to seek Him.”

“The One” draws attention to young people who age out of foster care without permanent families. Jen Katzfey, president of Hawk Hill Pictures, told CP the company was drawn to the film because Hawk's experience reflects the reality many young adults face as they leave the foster care system. 

“At Hawk Hill Pictures, we believe film can do more than entertain,” Katzfey said. “It can open hearts, start important conversations, and allow audiences to see people and issues they might otherwise overlook.”

Katzfey hopes viewers “look beyond the statistics and recognize the individual lives, dreams, and potential of children in foster care.”

The film is connected with For Others, the nonprofit founded by Chris Tomlin and his wife, Lauren, which works to raise awareness of the child welfare crisis and connect people with ways to support children and families.

“If it encourages even one person to get involved, open their heart to adoption or foster care, or help a young person feel less alone, then bringing ‘The One’ to audiences will have been deeply worthwhile,” Katzfey said.

For Cook, the film's producer, screenwriter and one of its actors, the foster care storyline grew partly out of her street ministry. Cook recalled meeting a young man named Armando who had aged out of foster care and later experienced homelessness and drug addiction.

“He had never done drugs until he became homeless and now, he's an addict,” Cook said. “Armando looked me dead in the eyes and said, ‘I wish my mom would have just aborted me.’”

“‘The One’ is an opportunity to not only help advocate for fostering and adopting, but also a chance to remind everyone that Jesus is with us at our highest and our lowest, and it's never too late to find Him or our forever family,” she added.

Kramer hopes the film ultimately reminds audiences to pay attention to people around them who may be struggling in ways they cannot see. She recalled something her pastor recently said: “The interruption is always the assignment.”

“The person that comes to speak to you or comes to talk to you ... be kind to people around you,” Kramer said. “There are people going through so many things. Just have faith and be kind… and believe that good things are possible.”

Watch the trailer for "The One" below.