Peaceful Lament.
Life is like the ocean.
Days where the sun beams steady upon us,
Reflections gazing far and wide of the majesty surrounding us.
The waters are refreshing, soothing to our weary souls.
But as tides turn and storms brew,
Sometimes as in a swift turn of the night.
The waters can overcome us.
Waves coming in quicker than we are able to take on.
Drowning begins.
With the surprise of the waves,
Hitting us time and time again where we least expect them to rise.
Before we are able to catch our breath another wave hits.
Bodies bruised, beaten, lungs shattered, breath suffocated.
We lose a bit of who we are.
The lament settles deep into our bones,
Agony cries out.
Questions arise within the darkness of the soul.
The identity we once knew, being reconstructed, tested, pursued.
The strength we thought we once had, washed away within the consistent rising of the tides.
For when the waves are tossing, true north tends to get lost within the waves.
But, true victory rises in allowing the waves to take you where they may,
To let go of the fight for control and let the current thrust you into the mystery of the journey.
To let the tears flow, the anger work through.
To release fear like fireflies, the release allowing the illumination into rest.
For we can trust that the creator of the very waves themselves has not forgotten us yet.
And as we let go, we learn to let peace in.
Within the darkness, peace settles.
Vastness comes in like a rushing wave. yet peace reminds us of a Creator who created the very waves that threaten our drowning heart.
We need only to lay down the fight, to let the emotions come, to get to the deepest spaces of lament.
The raw honesty in our bones allows us to look up and see the stars shining in the darkness.
It is the deepest spaces of lament that bring us into the fullness of hope.
For when God is all we have, we discover He is all we have ever truly wanted.
We discover there is no storm where His supernatural peace cannot reside.
The waves cannot rise so high that He cannot calm them.
The storms cannot rage beyond His capacity to sustain them.
The expanse of the suffering cannot surpass His level of faithfulness.
For Jesus will walk through the storm to bring the peace.
He will mark the very waves we thought would drown us as remembrance stone to sustain us.
To be the strength in us when we thought there was only weakness left.
To bring joy when only doubt and despair encircled our mind.
To be the way when we thought there was no way.
For as we turn our eyes beyond the waves,
We experience peace like the night sky touching corn fields,
Pink dust sprinkling the earth settling into the depths of blue,
washing us back to the waves.
And this time, we let out our sails and ride the waves.
The lament is still here, still heavy worn with sorrow and grief.
But as the surrender coexists within the storm,
As sails are raised,
We learn a peaceful lament.
