Posted by Adoption has been a major theme in singer-songwriter Sarah Hart’s life this year. Not only did she just release an Advent and Christmas album, which celebrates the season in which God adopted us as His sons and daughters through the birth of Jesus, the adult mother of two finally went through the process of being adopted by her stepfather decades after he became part of her family. Sarah joined me recently on “Christopher Closeup” (podcast below) to share that story, as well as to discuss faith, family, music, and why she considers herself “an Incarnation girl.”
Sarah’s biological father was never a big part of her life growing up. So, when she was a child, she prayed that God would send her mom a new husband who loved her. It took 12 years for that prayer to be answered, but when it was, God got it perfectly right.
“My mother remarried when I was a sophomore in high school,” Sarah recalled. “To my stepdad’s credit – and he’s not my stepdad, he’s my dad – but to my dad’s credit, he jumped into a household with two teenage daughters. My sister is a year older than I am. That was a lot of bravery and love. As the years went on, we really got to know each other better, have a deeper relationship.”
When Sarah and her sister eventually had children of their own, their dad took to being a grandpa “like a fish to water” – and the kids adored him right back. Though the topic of officially adopting Sarah and her sister had come up through the years, the timing of everyone needing to get to court at the same time never worked out.
About a year ago,” Sarah said, “we had a family member who was not well. I said to my dad, ‘If something happens, we will not be listed as your next of kin. We have to do this. I don’t want you being sick in the hospital and having nobody who can legally take care of you.’ He said, ‘What are we waiting for?’ So, we finally did it, and we were able to all get in the same place at the same time. The courtroom was amazing. The judge was crying, our lawyer was crying, we were all crying. It was an amazing testimony to love.”
The Christmas story, of course, is another amazing testimony to love, and that is what Sarah celebrates on her new album “All the Earth Alive Rejoicing.” She notes that she would happily record a new Christmas album every year if she could because “I am an Incarnation girl. It’s not even about Christmas and the decorations and the stuff around it. It is that I love the Incarnation from a theological standpoint. I just love that concept that God condescends and comes to us and says, ‘It’s okay. I got you. I love you.'”
In light of that, one of her songs is titled “Lowly the Cradle,” which reminds listeners that the God of the universe humbled Himself to be born in a manger. In other words, we have a God who doesn’t lord His power over others, but uses it more humbly.
Sarah observed, “We live in a world where many of the strong want to lord it over the weak, and want to keep the poor and powerless in their place, and want to keep people enslaved in different ways…God understood that about us, about our human preconditions to be sinful people who do want power – and some want to lord it over others. For Him to come as a king in a completely powerless state is such an incredible, beautiful image. To literally say, ‘I come as the poor, I come as the weak, I come as the innocent, I come as the stranger and the immigrant,’ and that list goes on and on and on. In writing ‘Lowly the Cradle,’ it was important for me to address the humility of God. I worry about a culture where we focus too much on God as power and contorting God in our image, if that makes sense. The way that Christ came to us is the antithesis of a lot of what’s happening in the world right now: to come humbly and quietly, to fall among us to lowly birth parents with no money and no stature, but people who had love and kindness to give. So, I wanted to weave that into a story.”
Sarah also wove a story about Jesus’ humble birth parents into the song “By Your Side.” In this duet with Josh Blakesley, Mary and Joseph reflect on their feelings for – and commitment to – each other in light of her unexpected pregnancy, which would have caused a serious scandal for both of them.
Mary sings to Joseph:
“Tell me if you think you want to go. I would understand
Cause it never may be easy for you just
To hold my hand.
In a world of judging eyes and whispering tongues
I’m aware that it may all just be too much
For you to stay.
I know this burden isn’t light
But I want to be by your side.”
Joseph then responds:
“My love, I had a dream deep in the night
Where the angels were.
They said, ‘Do not be afraid of what’s to come
just go and run to her.’
And I confess I wrestled with such doubt,
But as soon God and I had had it out
I saw the light.
How could I run from where Love resides
So I’ll stay right here by your side.”
Like Sarah experienced with her own stepfather, Joseph’s response to Mary to be Jesus’ adoptive father is also a testimony to love and family.
Another track, “As You Are,” was inspired by Sarah’s visit to the Mansfield Correctional Institution and could be considered Kris Kristofferson-esque in its references to “the drifters” and “broken souls” among us.
Sarah performed a concert at a parish in Mansfield, Ohio, so they invited her to take part in their prison ministry program. Having never played in a prison before, she agreed to play the music for a Mass for the inmates.
Sarah reflected, “I’ve sung at 3.000 Masses in my life, I’d be easily willing to bet, [but this] was the most beautiful Mass I’ve ever been privileged to be a part of. The men sang with such gusto, they had a choir, they had all instruments. Afterwards, we were all able to talk, and they told me about themselves. Some of them told me why they were there. We talked about music, they talked about their struggles…I was so moved by them. A lot of times, I think, when we as Christians go into charitable situations, we think, ‘I can’t wait to bring Jesus to these people.’ But I’m here to tell you, those guys know Jesus better than I do. They brought Jesus to me that day.”
“I wanted to write a song to assure them and anyone who’s struggling,” Sarah continued. “There’s so many people in this world who feel on the outside of church and the outside of what we have made church. I’m talking about the establishment rather than people, but the establishment of church. There are so many people who feel excluded and outcast. Here comes Jesus again in this little form literally speaking to us, ‘Come just as you are. I don’t need anything from you. There’s not a thing you can give me except your heart.’ There’s no more beautiful concept than that and no more better news than that. I wanted to write a song to thank them for opening my eyes to that…It allowed me to hear the voice of God saying, ‘You see, Sarah, nobody is excluded. My desire is that all come to me.'”
Though Christmas is a season of joy, some people are going through grief and hardship at this time. Sarah prays that “All the Earth Alive Rejoicing” speaks to them as well. She concluded, “I know that Christmas for so many is such a difficult time because we’ve lost people that we love. As we know, statistically, suicide rates tend to go up during December and post-Christmas because for some who are alone, it is a very difficult time. But I hope that the messages that are contained in the record [reach listeners]: this love is for all, all are welcome, come as you are, and especially, you aren’t alone. We do not walk alone. Even though we can be lonely, it is not the same thing as alone. In Christ, in God, in this gift that He’s given us, we aren’t alone. I hope that people will hear that in this recording.”
(To listen to my full interview with Sarah Hart, click on the podcast link):
RELATED: Previous interviews with Sarah Hart
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