Christian singer Sandi Patty saying goodbye to touring, heading to Alabama for the next leg of last concert tour

Sandi Patty, dubbed as "the most awarded female vocalist in contemporary Christian music history," is on her final tour, after which she will be retiring from touring. Prior to her concert in Alabama this month, she spent some time sharing a few things about herself, her plans, and her album.

In a podcast phone interview with the Montgomery Advertiser, Patty talked about what she would miss most after she stops going to different places to perform, and it's not the traveling part.

"I'm going to miss the people, for sure. I really enjoy just getting to know so many different people in different parts of the world," she said.

But even though Patty is no longer going to be on the road for concerts, she will still be doing public speaking as she said she loves having the opportunity to speak to people, such as church worship teams or at women's conferences. She is a teacher at a local Christian university for a certificate program for worship, art and leadership, and she expressed how much she likes helping to empower the next generation of those who want to lead worship.

But speaking was not always very easy for Patty, who found words to have been difficult for her when she was young.

She shared: "I was a very shy kid and so, I would hear a song and I would think, 'Oh, that's what I want to be able to sing, that's what I want to be able to say."

Her "Forever Grateful" tour coincides with the release of her album that bears the same name. Patty has already recorded dozens since 1979, three of which reached platinum and five were gold. Her latest one is rising rapidly in the Billboard Christian Album Charts, ranked at No. 14 at the time of writing.

The 59-year-old singer said that with every album she had done, she tried to make them into reflections of what's going on in her heart, and she shared about "Forever Grateful": "So I think what this album really is about gratitude ... reflecting on how faithful God had been in my own life, my family, the things I wish had learned. I think the overall feeling of the project is one of gratitude and God's faithfulness."

Throughout her career, Patty has received, among others, five Grammy awards, 40 Dove awards, and four BillBoard Music awards, and was inducted in the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame. From the late '80s to the early '90s, she has reportedly averaged more than 200 -- usually sold out -- concerts per year.

For the remainder of her final tour, Patty will visiting Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, and New Mexico this May, then Indiana and Mississippi in June, and Minneapolis in September. From March 11 to 18. 2017, she will have the "Sandi Patti - Forever Grateful: The Farewell Cruise."