Lamentations

Recently I read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.   Her writing is bittersweet and one of the best examples of "show don't tell" I have ever encountered.  In passing, she mentioned the difference between complaining and lamenting. Lamenting - what's that?  Is there a difference?  Are we supposed to lament?  Why has no one ever talked about this before?  I am an expert complainer - I always thought I should combat it by being content. Is there something different I should be trying??

Fast forward a week and the sermon was about lamenting!  I think someone is trying to get my attention.  There are a few key things I took away from the sermon.  Lamenting is about grieving or mourning before God over the difference between what is and what might/ could be.  David lamented often in his prayers - some say up to 70% of the psalms could be considered laments.  If the psalms show us how to live then we should be a people characterized by lament.  Part of this is because we are caught between the now fallen world and the world to be re-created.  Of course there is discord, bitterness and strife - we reached out to do life on our own terms and fell out of relationship with the one who made us as His image bearers.  We are those who are in between - glimpsing the beauty and goodness God intended in snippets but also witnessing the pain and havoc of "real life".

So, I think Christians should be excellent lamenters - but I don't know anyone who is.  Do you?  Lamenters mourn (isn't that in the beattitudes) before the face of God instead of blowing things off or sinking into depression.  Lamenting brings dignity to life because it gives the important things the weight and recognition they deserve. It requires an active faith and an honesty about life that is a hard tension to live with.  It recognizes His sovereignty and the reality of pain at the same time.  It opens up the door for His comfort to enter into a situation.  David consistently found comfort - ending his laments with God's promises and reflecting on His character.  Do I do the same?

So I think that the best response is not trying harder to be content or complaining (my son said this is what his Sunday School lesson was on last week) - instead it is this thing I never knew we should do - lament.  I intend to learn more about this.  This frees me to live in between and let go of perfectionism and hard heartedness.  The people of Israel were taught how to lament their losses - may I do the same.  This pilgrim, longing for home, now knows what to do when things fall short - lament and enter into His comfort.