sara groves

A while back I accidentally discovered a new to me singer songwriter named Sara Groves. She's a Christian Singer Songwriter whose music is absolutely beautiful and reminds me of a cross between early Dar Williams and Shawn Colvin with a twinge of Sarah Maclachlan. I forget what I was looking for in ITunes, but I discovered "Peace Peace" on her Christmas Album which has become a favorite song for me, even outside of the Christmas season.

Tonight I decided to learn a bit more about her. I discovered her album "Tell me what you know" which has a social justice bent. On her website she writes:

The phrase ‘social justice’ can be loaded. To some people it is a political or a liberal conversation, but to me, it is a Kingdom conversation. There are people behind these stories and statistics, and God’s heart for justice burns on their behalf. I wanted to write songs that drew attention to the people like Elizabeth [a human trafficking survivor she met] who know God deeply because of their suffering. There is a commonality in all of these friends, and that is the perseverance of hope.

Here's a video for one of the songs from the album, inspired by her trip to Rwanda. I think we all have had those moments when we've come face to face with the harsh realities of our world, and the amazing human spirit to perservere and work to make the world a better place in the midst of all the suffering, and come away changed. Or if we haven't had one of those moments, we will some day, I think, if we're living openly and honestly. In any case, this song puts words on that whole experience of transformation through other peoples' journeys ... beautifully.

I'll admit that I often steer clear of "Christian" or "Praise" music - partly because it usually has more of a protestant sensibility than I'm used to, and partly because it's a bit too churchy and not very real. Or not very good music. From what I've heard so far, Sara Groves has a very deep spirituality grounded in her committment to living out God's questions in our complicated and messy world. And her music is truly beautiful. If she's new to you ... enjoy!