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For the dreamer, the romantic, the seeker of beauty and wonder, the believer in something bigger and more beautiful, music is perfect. The new project “Fireflies and Songs” is a journey into Sara Groves’ heart. Given carte blanche to “enjoy God and the gift of songwriting,” her lyrics precisely detail the depths and nuances of so many relationships and the choice of accompanying instruments masterfully paint the perfect picture.
Do you remember the movie Mary Poppins and the part where the children, Mary, and Bert enjoy the horse race in the country when they entered his sketch on the sidewalk? That’s how I felt as soon as I began to listen. “Wait! She’s presenting her life; but it’s mine, too!” The first five songs are about relationships with others. The sixth and seventh are also about relationships, this time with the past and with the everydayness of life, finding joy in the repetition. The final four songs are, for me, a prayer, a request to help me leave my life right, and to acknowledge Jesus as most important.
As I listened, this is what I saw and felt as I traveled with Sara, song by song, through this beautiful compilation that celebrates life’s challenges and joys.
Looking up to the sky, I remind myself that God can see something else, which keeps me running to Him, no matter what’s going on. As I view the horizon and the great expanse of the family of God, I can see there are different kinds of happy, and each one is not just all right: all God’s children should celebrate each kind of happy. Bringing my focus closer, I reflect on those who are my heart friends, who’ve been through so much with me and who have invited me into their lives for the duration. As Sara sings, these relationships are twice as good as I could have imagined. Then, turning to look at the man beside me, with whom I have shared marriage 15 years this week, I can attest that the vulnerability that makes for a successful marriage can also bring pain, but I’d rather have that, with the accompanying healing and happiness, than not have him in my life.
The goodness of life now often causes me to reflect on my childhood and I realize, as has Sara, that God lives in our hearts and travels with us through life, not scrimping on any blessings. I also know that much of life is cyclical and can be thought of as mundane, but there’s also so much to enjoy, so much to celebrate.
Knowing the wonder and joy of all these relationships and the effort it takes to make them good, I again turn my eyes to the Lord, asking that He continue to help me love as He loves, setting me free and showing me what can be. I ask that He allow me to look past the pain, that I may be a reflection of Him. I pray this will give me the strength to dig deep, to tell the truth that is burning as a fire in my bones and, when all is said and done, to know that I demonstrated Christ, our joy and strength.
This is such a lovely, evocative album. It allows me to see the big picture as well as to appreciate what’s up close. It reminds me that beauty is all around me, even in the pain; also that the dreams placed within me, first glimpsed when I was a child, are found today in the work of my hands, though it may not be exactly what I envisioned. God does indeed work out all things for the good of those who love Him!
“Fireflies and Songs” celebrates all that’s best in relationships as well as the mundanity of life, helps conquer fears, rejoice in triumphs, and encourages our determination to remain on the right path. May all the music we invite into our lives do the same thing.
Track List:
1. Fireflies and Songs
2. From This One Place
3. Different Kinds of Happy
4. Twice as Good
5. It’s Me
6. This House
7. Setting Up the Pins
8. Love
9. Like a Lake
10. Eyes Wide Open
11. Joy is in Our Hearts
I’ll be filling in this Sunday with a Sunday Reflection, but don’t worry I’ll back once again next Monday with a new Monday Morning Memo.
All of Heaven’s best to you and yours,
Margret Boyd
Scribe of Heaven
(Matthew 13:51,52)
For anyone who hasn’t had the opportunity to view the pre-release video of “It’s Me”, I strongly encourage you to do so. Sara has been gifted with an amazing ability to articulate through her music the heights and depths of relational experiences. This song will undoubtedly pierce the heart and soul of anyone who listens to it. Anyone who has ever risked exposing their most intimate and personal selves to another will be unable to deny that this music is an unequaled look into the human heart. Thank you Sara for sharing this gift with us.