Hole in my heart - by Laura Duke

I've been listening to a podcast called 'Hole in My Heart' for a while now and I'm finding it challenging, encouraging and interesting.

In an episode I listened to recently they discussed the topic of 'lament'. I don't know about you, but I've not really ever thought about lament before. Not deeply.

The guest for the episode is author and musician Micheal Card who has written (amongst others) a book called 'A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament' and at the same time released corresponding album with a song called 'Come Lift Up Your Sorrows'.

Lament is incredibly common in the Bible - many of the Psalms, there's a whole book called Lamentations, even Jesus laments in Gethsemane and when Lazarus died.

Lamenting is openly and honestly pouring out to God all of our messiness, sadness, anger, pain, loneliness, etc. I think it's so hard to do this because ever since we were tiny we've been told 'it's ok, don't cry', and we've learned not to be like children and to instead be grown up and in control of our feelings, often simply pushing them down (which we know doesn't work).

But Jesus calls us to be like little children and God is a loving, patient and kind God. Maybe he can handle the toddler tantrums of our hearts. And maybe he wants us to share those angry, scared, lonely, ashamed feelings with him rather than hiding like Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. And maybe, as with so many of the psalms, the process of allowing our lament to flow upwards to God will allow God to speak in to our hearts too, that he may turn our hearts towards his goodness and loving kindness, bringing us peace.

God, help us to come to you with our sorrow, pain and grief. May we take it to you in all it's files that you may take it and fill us with your peace. Amen.

https://youtu.be/PvyD9VG-K_Y