Good Grief

O, LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chasten me in Your wrath.
Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am pining away; Heal me, O LORD, for my bones are dismayed.
And my soul is greatly dismayed; but You, O LORD – how long?
Return, O LORD, rescue my soul; save me because of Your lovingkindness.
For there is no mention of You in death; in Sheol who will give You thanks?
I am weary with my sighing; every night I make my bed swim, I dissolve my couch with my tears.
My eye has wasted away with grief; it has become old because of all my adversaries.
Depart from me, all you who do iniquity, for the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.
The LORD has heard my supplication, the LORD receives my prayer.
All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly dismayed; they shall turn back, they will suddenly be ashamed.



The sixth psalm has been my comfort on a few separate occasions. Times when I’ve sunk low in loneliness and deep sorrow. Waiting until the still darkness of night creeps in…the secret hours…to sigh, and to grieve. Weeping over broken dreams. Broken hearts. Brokeness.

I find solace in knowing that King David wept. That he pined. That his very soul was wearied and dismayed. That he, too, cried out “O LORD, how long?” And that in his lament, he found a God who heard him, who received his prayers. A God that would rescue his soul.

We’ve been reading about the humanity of Jesus this past week in Book Club¹. What struck me as particularly important about acknowledging Jesus’ humanity is the same thing that causes David’s song to resonate. Like David, Jesus wept. He was lonely, weary, and laden with a sorrowful burden I could never carry. Does my own selfish grief build a wall between this perfect God-man and me….or will I look in the mirror and see not my face, but the tear-stained face of Jesus, suffering with me? Suffering for me. Suffering because of me.

…………

But the night has always faded with the coming dawn, and the light rushes in, dissolving the shadows. Each day brings the promise, the reality, of resurrection².

This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. -- Lamentations 3:21-23


1. Vintage Jesus: Timeless Answers to Timely Questions - Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears

2. For some far more interesting and beautiful reflections on resurrection, see Pete. Go read it. Now. Run.

How To of the Day: How to Cook a Snake

Thanks to my WikiHow gadget on my iGoogle page, I now know. This is the technologically savvy way of learning. The alternative method is to ask Jared.



I very nearly posted last month…honest. It was to be a tragic story of a girl who sacrificed her one real beauty in order to learn the intricacies of guitar playing so that she may share her glorious, albeit undiscovered, talents with the world. But then our supremely interesting heroine found a house, the guitar gathered dust, and the post grew cold. (On the sunny side, her nails are also growing! Of course, that means you’ll all miss out on her super-deep thoughts regarding the spiritual consequences of cutting one’s fingernails. Such is life.)

In addition to sucking up any possible free time that could be used for posting, this whole house buying process is having some noticeable effects on me. The first house I considered making an offer on cost me a night’s rest. The second house I considered (and am now purchasing) also stole away a few hours, even though I felt quite confident with the decision. But sleep deprivation is not that unusual given the circumstances. The unexpected effect is my loss of memory and/or normal brain function. It borders on amnesia. I present to you the following evidence:

1. 4th of July – I leave my pillow and a pair of jeans at The Flats…right after I chide myself for nearly forgetting my sunscreen. (A lot of good remembering the sunscreen did me the next day in Oscoda.)

2. Camping at Houghton Lake – I opened my travel toothbrush case and found it devoid of my travel toothbrush. I have no idea where it is. I had just used it the previous weekend…at the Flats. It is still missing.

3. REAL Leadership Meeting Discussion – Scheduled over a month ago for this week. Please read this reenactment of a conversation regarding this meeting (ok, technically not a reenactment, but I’m sure you can visualize):
Garrett: I talked to Jeff and he’s going to be late to the meeting.
Me: *blink*
…………(crickets)……………
Me: *blink* What meeting?
Garrett: (recovering quickly from the shock, celebrates with a gleeful, and somewhat disturbing, laugh…and a happy dance.)

4. Monday Night Book Club – I drive home and pull into my (Kels’) parking space. I reach to grab my book and my Bible. They are not on my passenger seat. They are at Garrett’s house.

5. Tuesday Night REAL Leadership Meeting – I drive home and pull into my (Kels’) parking space. I reach to grab my book bag. It is not on my passenger seat. It is at the Winter’s house.

6. Thursday Night Bible Study – A reunion with my book bag fails to produce my study notes for the Bible Study. They are not at the Winter’s. They are at home on my living room floor.

7. The above actions are neither normal nor acceptable. I am losing my mind.

Q.E.D.