I made my way through the book of Lamentations during October.  The title is pretty indicative of it's content.  Spoiler Alert:  it's a real downer.  As if any of us need any more of that but I'm the kind of person who can't skip ahead, I have to go in order and Lamentations comes after Jeremiah, so Lamentations it was.  I've been feeling pretty down myself, so it seemed right that God and I should walk hand-in-hand through this season.  

In the newsletter, we share about the camp that Ivan helped lead.  He was gone for 6 days.  Which meant I was holding down the home front and it was certainly not easy-breezy.  From bee stings to poop in the bathtub to earthquakes.  We experienced it all.  Lots of tears.  Lots of time outs.  Lots of coffee. I was not at the end my rope... I was free-falling without a parachute.  (Maybe you've felt the same).  

Accurate description of our feelings as Ivan left for camp

Lamentations 3:19-33 (MSG)

"I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed.  I remember it all - Oh how well I remember the hitting of rock bottom.  BUT there's one thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope.  

God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up.  They're created new every morning.  How great your faithfulness!  I'm sticking with God.  (I say it over and over).  He's all I've got left.  

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks.  It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God.  It's a good thing when you're young to stick it out through the hard times.  

When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself.  Enter the silence.  Bow in prayer.  Don't ask questions.  Wait for hope to appear.  Don't run from trouble.  Take it full-force.  The "worst" is never the worst.  Why?  Because the Master won't ever walk out and fail to return.  If he works severely, he also works tenderly.  

His stockpiles of loyal love are immense."

The people of God are in exile when Lamentations is written.  Eugene H. Peterson writes "Loss was total.  The worst that can happen to body and spirit, to person and nation, happened here --a nadir of suffering."  Out of that complete devastation comes this call to keep a grip on hope.  

Things have not gone the way I had planned this past month.  Nor the way I hoped.  But I hold on to these words in Lamentations.  The pain, the loss is not forgotten, but neither is God's love.  I am to take the heaviness of the things in this world and go to the Father.  His love is immense and His mercies new every morning.  I remind myself, and I remind you, "keep a grip on hope".  Let His unfailing love cover us and fill us.  

Nothing some duct tape can't fix, right? ;)

Cousins and ice cream!

Helping cousin Ajelet with a school activity!

YL November Newsletter