I’m part of a group of women reading and discussing Dark Clouds Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament by Mark Vroegop. There is so much about this book that I love. Here are some of my favourite quotes from the introduction and chapter one:

Pg 19 – Lament gives “permission to wrestle with sorrow instead of rushing to end it.”

Pg 21 – “Lament is how we bring our sorrow to God. Without lament, we won’t know how to process pain. Silence, bitterness, and even anger can dominate our spiritual lives instead. Without lament, we won’t know how to help people walking through sorrow. Instead, we’ll offer solutions, unhelpful comments, or impatient responses. What’s more, without this sacred song of sorrow, we’ll miss the lessons historical laments are intended to teach us. Lament is how Christians grieve.”

Pg 26 – “Lament stands in the gap between pain and promise”

Pg 36 – “Hurting people are given permission to grieve, but not aimlessly or selfishly. The biblical language of lament is able to redirect a weeping people to what is true despite the valley they are walking through.”

As I continue to dwell on this book and the passages of Scripture it is leading me to study, I remembered a bible study from years ago. I don’t remember the study itself, but I do remember one bit of homework. We were to write a psalm—a song of praise. As I remembered how much I enjoyed that process, I considered the balm it might be to a write a lament—a song of sorrow, declaring my dependance on God in a season of unknowns. Here it is.

To my God who hears, my God who answers,
attend to the cry of my heart.
My steps falter and my strength withers,
But I know You are near the broken.
Yet you feel far away.Life trembles at every touch.
Fear sits heavy upon my chest —
fear that this burden will not lift,
fear of unwanted change,
fear that stretches into the valley where death casts its shadow.But You, O Lord, are my help.
Draw near in my confusion.
Take hold of my wavering hand;
quiet my racing mind.When shadows gather, keep me from sinking;
When the path is hidden, teach me to trust.
Restore what is broken.
Breathe healing into aching bones.
Awaken hope again.You have not forgotten those who call You Father.
You do not abandon those who wait.
Because You are with me, I will lift my voice.
I will praise the One who keeps His promises,
and find in Your presence a refuge for my trembling soul.

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