Sara Groves Lessons In Abiding

sara groveslessons in abiding

by heather van allen —PROFILE CONTRIBUTOR

SONGWRITER AND ARTISTSARA GROVES KNOWS WELLTHAT LIFE — EVEN THE LIFEOF A CHRISTIAN — IS NOT ALLEASY LIVING IN THE SUNSHINE,DEVOID OF ALL TRIAL ANDDARKNESS.

She has cycled through both dark and light seasons in her life, but has always returned to her awareness of God’s constant presence.

Much of her music over her 20-year career reflects this integration of her faith with the other parts of her life, with its ebb and flow, questions and answers, ups and downs.

“Part of my work and passion,” Sara says, “is to tear down the sacred-secular divide, where people look at their lives and say, ‘These are the spiritual things; these are the other things.’”

As a positive celebration of God’s presence and provision during a difficult period in her life, Sara’s latest album, Abide With Me, is part of that faith-life connection in how it relates to her previous album Floodplain.

Initially Sara resisted creating Floodplain, which documents her journey through anxiety and depression.

“Probably four or five years ago, I was in one of the

darkest seasons I have ever been in,” she says.

Feeling as though no one was praying as much as she was, but yet the depression was not being lifted from her, Sara began asking questions and processing what was going on with her during that season of her life. She felt like God was inviting her “to document life on the floodplain when the waters rise.”

During that time, the hymns that found their way onto the current album, Abide With Me, were the songs that brought her comfort while she was “on the floodplain.”

“I felt like God was extending friendship to me in that place,” Sara says, further commenting that many of the songs on Abide With Me declare friendship with God. “He sits with us, He dwells with us when we are struggling and hurting. [In His grace], God extends this radical friendship to us in any number of places that we find ourselves.”

Further affirming the connection between the two albums, a friend of Sara’s, after listening to Floodplain, described it as emphasizing not depression, but provision.

“I feel like that’s true,” Sara agrees. “That record is about provision. This album [Abide With Me] is giving language to that provision, to what that has looked like for hymn writers across the centuries. The best hymns we have were written in the middle of great lament and tremendous trial.”

Sara decided the timing was right to put together a

hymns album — something she and her husband had discussed several times over the years — partly because she felt like she “needed to go back in order to go forward.” She had been writing new songs as she processed her thoughts about her life and the world around her, and began thinking it was time to revisit the ideas about who God is as found in some of the classic hymns.

“What do we mean by “amazing grace” or when we say, “O my Redeemer, what a friend thou art to me”? What does the friendship of God actually look like right now?” Sara speculates.

Making Abide With Me was a joy for Sara because of how easily everything fell into place.

“There were so many green-light moments with this album. I’ve never worked on an album that fell together so quickly and so easily. Every single door just flew open. It was really joyful in that regard. I had to look at that and say, ‘Well, I guess this is the record I was supposed to make.’”

God, who was always with Sara, reminding her of His presence through the classic hymns that are so familiar to her, even in the middle of the rising waters, has now set her feet on higher, drier ground.

“I have grown a lot. I have moved into a different place. God has sent ‘boats’ — an armarda of friends and help.”

Abide With Me is a reflection of a truth Sara has held onto even in her darkest moments — that God’s presence with us is not dependent on circumstances. At all times, we can abide in Him and trust Him to pull us through.

Find out more about Sara’sAbide With Me album atwww.saragroves.com