Tag: lament

3 Truths for Dealing With Covid Chaos, part 1

July 27, 2020 /

The other day I was at a tennis drill that was, well…maddening. It was designed to create chaos in order to help us practice responding under pressure.

The pro would feed a “poachable” ball to the net player on one side and the player’s goal was to pound it directly at the feet of her opposing net player.

If the net player was able to return the ball it wouldn’t be pretty and it was unpredictable. The point would unfold from there, everyone trying to survive and bring some kind of order to the chaos.

If you don’t play tennis and don’t understand the explanation above, it doesn’t matter. The point is that chaos was meant to help us get better.

green tennis ball on court
Photo by Bogdan Glisik on Pexels.com

Turns out I don’t do great in chaos. Few of us do. Welcome to 2020.

After the drill I was talking to the pro and he said the thing that happens with everyone in chaos is that they tense up.

You feel the pressure to prove yourself or perform in the midst of uncertainty, and your muscles tighten. You’re afraid of losing.

You play from a place of fear and confusion. My coach said the first step is just acknowledging what’s going on. Say to yourself, “I’m in a hard position here. Just breathe, relax and ask what’s the next right thing to do.”

I do not believe God “sent” or “created” this pandemic. Illness is a result of the Fall. But God did allow this, and I believe He desires to use it to form us into people more like Him if we’re willing to pay attention.

This week, situations reminded me of three truths a friend of ours used to repeat years ago, which I’ll write about in the coming days. But first I had to acknowledge the situation – the chaos and the resulting pain.

We may be inclined to think that God judges us for being brutally truthful with Him about how we’re feeling – emotions of anger, confusion or uncertainty. But we see differently in Scripture, especially in the Psalms.

Like an inconsolable toddler reaching up for his mother, crying out to God is intimate. It draws us near to His heart.

I call out at the top of my lungs, “God! Answer! I’ll do whatever you say.” …

I was up before sunrise, crying for help, hoping for a word from you. I stayed awake all night, prayerfully pondering your promise. In your love, listen to me; in your justice, God, keep me alive…

Let my cry come right into your presence, God; provide me with the insight that comes only from your Word. Give my request your personal attention, rescue me on the terms of your promise…

Put your hand out and steady me since I’ve chosen to live by your counsel…

And should I wander off like a lost sheep—seek me! I’ll recognize the sound of your voice.

psalm 119 MSG

So, today, maybe talk to God honestly about how you feel in this season of chaos. Journal a prayer or take a walk and pray. Acknowledge the situation and your needs.

Taking the Long Way

October 6, 2019 /

It’s still zero dark thirty as I walk through my neighborhood to coffee, but I can tell it’s cloudy. No stars. No moon. It’s a blustery 48 degrees and I’m not dressed for the changing season.

I usually take the “long way”, weaving through the lovely back streets, but today my hands are becoming numb. I cut out of the neighborhood for a more direct route to the warm Starbucks with lights beckoning me through the darkness.

As I walk, I think of the Israelites in the wilderness. How much would they have loved to turn on a GPS and take a shortcut to the Promised Land?

How often did they think, “God parted the Red Sea for us! Why not provide a highway and a Maserati?” Ok, maybe not that exact sentiment, but something within the realm of their imagination, right?

How often would you like to do that too? Maybe your wilderness is singleness, or infertility, or joblessness, or health issues, or more month than money.

Yeah, we can see the benefits of the “long way” for the Israelites –

  • They learned deep, daily dependence on God.
  • They saw His faithfulness and goodness even when their circumstances didn’t change.
  • They experienced the value of community.
  • They learned the consequences of disobedience.

But maybe you’re feeling really cranky today and you’re tired of looking for the blessings. You may feel like you’re making excuses for God. That’s honest.

via GIPHY

Maybe today you need permission to lament. (Psalm 5:1-3, Psalm 6:3)

Maybe you need to hear that God is patient and sees you and hears you no matter how rebellious you feel. (Genesis 13:16, Psalm 40:1, 2 Peter 3:9)

Maybe you just need your weariness and pain to be validated. (Psalm 119:28, Psalm 34:18)

It’s ok. God is big and gracious and patient.

But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the wilderness.

Psalm 78:52

What has helped you in your wilderness? Share in comments! And I’d love to have you join me over on Instagram! Come say “Hey!”

The Third Way of Prayer

March 11, 2018 /

Seems like lately everyone around me has been experiencing loss, deep pain, or unexpected trauma.  As I walk along a wooded path my shoulders feel heavy. My spirit matches the damp gray afternoon and I dodge icy patches and sooty piles of snow. My prayers are more like a litany of lament, and it’s appropriate. There is a time for that. Absolutely. You may be lamenting, and God welcomes that.

There is also time for thanksgiving, for focusing not on what has been lost, but on all that we have to be grateful for…a kind of perspective corrective. We list one thousand gifts in a journal. We pay attention to our blessings.  We try to “think lovely thoughts”. Thanksgiving is always right and good.

But there’s a third way of praying  that has been most important to me in this heavy season.

Continue reading

The With-God Life

July 28, 2014 /

I recorded this conversation in 2002 when Maggie, like Alexander, had had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week.

Me, trying to comfort Maggie: Remember sweetie, the Bible says, “The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves those crushed in spirit.”

Maggie: Mom, I’ve just had a bad week, I haven’t been trampled by a horse!

Me: Ok, got it.  Ratchet back the hyper-spiritualizing.

Recently I’ve circled back to Psalm 34 where that verse is found.  It’s a “praise-the-Lord-even-if-I’m-dying” Psalm, because God is present.  It’s a good reminder Psalm.  God has used it in my life in some of the lowest times (can you tell from all the scribbling and times I’ve dated it?)photo-149

But on other days I love it that we also have the “crap-life-sucks-and-never-will-get-better-so-let’s-kick-ass” Psalms.

Psalm 35, for example Continue reading

When Mistakes Have Been Made and You Don’t Know What to Do

April 3, 2014 /

I vividly remember the second time I ever saw my husband, John.

He was up in front of the congregation at the church I was attending. He was the youth pastor, fresh out of seminary and it was his first time preaching. He was leading the congregation in reading the morning Scripture passage responsively – him one verse, us the next. The problem was he was reading from one Psalm and the congregation was reading from another – the correct one – the one printed in the bulletin.

After a few awkward, “off” responses that left people confused, he stopped and said, “Have you ever made a really big mistake in front of a lot of people?”

I may have fallen in love with him at that moment. A leader who can own his mistakes and move on is rare.

But some mistakes are much bigger than others.  Sometimes owning our mistakes is complicated and the consequential damage can seem irreparable. Continue reading

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