During the sermon, we were given time to consider what we might have to present to God as a lament. I will tell you that I found this exercise quite difficult. I was not sure where the line between "complaining" and presenting the Lord with a "complaint" was. I was so afraid to cross it.
It has left me thinking, though, that I need to spend some time reflecting on this... sorting through it... praying about it... I think it is possible that some of the things I feel like complaining about are hindering my spiritual growth and I wonder now, if there are some things that would be appropriate for me to lament. Without addressing those things, is that also hindering my spiritual progress?
This summer, when I am free from work for a few weeks, might be a good time to work on this. I will also be meeting with a few friends weekly to go through a book on spiritual formation. Maybe this summer will be a time of letting go and moving forward.
I hope so.
How about you all? Are you familiar with the idea of a lament? Have you ever done it? Here is a blog post someone else posted about it. It has some links to some modern laments that might be interesting to read. I'd love to read your thoughts on this.
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Although the examen is a Christian practice, I would hope that anyone who has something to share would feel welcome here. Also, if you don't have your own blog and would like to participate, share your bread in the comments. To holding on to what gives life,
Mary-LUE
2 comments:
Your blog is new to me, but already, what a blessing it's been.
When I think of lament, regret or grief is what comes to mind.
I lament
...that our lives are full of such busyness (especially with modern electronic devices) that we don't take time to communicate with God or hear from Him. The value of being quiet has been lost.
...the times we don't trust Him as we should.
...carrying the weight of problems we should be letting Him carry.
...when we are selfish.
...when we don't do our best.
Hi, I came here through Heather's blog. I think a good practice to learn how to do this is to go through the Psalms where David did alot of lamenting. His lamenting always leads to a decision to follow and believe in the promises of God more fervently. He declares those things that he is choosing to believe and to cling to during the hard times in his life. This is just my first thought after reading this blog post. I could be way off, but I think I will examine some of these to see what I can learn about pouring my complaints out to the Lord. I think it is necessary so that we can learn to better depend upon Him.
Ruthie from California
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