A Word of Encouragement

Lament

This term has been hard, hasn’t it? So many changes. New systems. Frantic turnarounds. Then so much screen time. So much home time. So little time together. School online. Church online. Life online. Zoom and internet speed dictating how we connect. Better than nothing, but far less satisfying than the real thing. 

And today I’m feeling it. The isolation. The frustration. The grief of this season we are in. I live alone and work mostly from home. I miss gathering with people. I want a hug or high five. I’m sad it still will be a while before these things return. It won’t last forever, not this season or this feeling. But today that’s what it is for me.

We are each facing our own unique version of the trials and grief that this season holds for us. Yours might look different to mine. But I suspect even if it isn’t today for you, we all of us are having our bad days. 

I’m sharing with you because I want to be real with you, and real as a person of faith. Because even though I trust in a good, loving and powerful God, and even though I believe that this pandemic will not be the end of the story he is writing, having that faith doesn’t mean the tough times don’t impact me. Having faith doesn’t mean putting on a strong face or sugarcoating the hard stuff. In fact, quite the opposite. The God of the Christian faith invites us to be real about all things, even the dark and hard things we face. 

When life hurts and feels heavy, when anxiety won’t lift and depression sets in, when the grief and loss feel red raw, instead of hiding or faking it this God invites us to lament. 

What is it to lament? To lament is to voice our complaint, to be real with our questions, doubts, confusion and pain. And the ‘prayer book’ of the Bible – the Psalms – have plenty of examples of laments, examples which show us it’s OK to be real about these questions: e.g. How long, Lord? Why, God? Where are you? Have you forgotten me? 

Does that surprise you? It might. But I hope it also encourages you. Because love and connection don’t happen when we hide our real feelings. Rather, the truth is that when we dare to be real, often we find a deeper love and connection than we knew before we shared. That’s true in all our relationships – with one another and with God. So, if you’re having a hard day like me, it’s OK to be real about it. It’s OK to not be OK. Have a go at lamenting your bad day, and discover afresh that a weight shared is lightened, that deeper connection comes from being real, and that God is close enough to hold us through it all. 

Rev Karen Reid

Girton Chaplain