Being a fogey I naturally don't keep up with the latest in contemporary Christian music. So an awful lot passes me by, interspersed with haphazard moments of discovery. A couple of weeks back I happened to be driving and chanced upon a Christian radio station. A song I'd never heard was playing, and I was transfixed. The song was released in 2011, and deservedly led to awards and heightened recognition for the artist, Laura Story. (Yep, you guessed it .. I hadn't heard of her either. That will let younger Christians know what sized rock I've been hiding under.) The song is simply titled "Blessings"....   

It's seriously one of the most moving and theologically satisfying songs I've ever heard on the theme of suffering in the journey of discipleship. As so often with musical or other reflections on suffering throughout Christian history, the rich biblical insights the song expresses are borne of real trials in the life of the artist. The following line from the refrain says so much ...

What if trials of this life are your mercies in disguise?

This song ministers mightily to my spirit, as it clearly has done to many many others over the past 5 years. Highly recommended to any who've been hiding under the same rock as I ...