Introduction Excerpt
The season of Lent has
often been seen as a spiritual preparation for Christians to prepare our hearts
for Easter’s sacrificial gift of grace. Sometimes we may choose a daily
reminder, such as giving up a favorite treat or activity, to help acknowledge
our commitment to focus on this spiritual journey. Or we might choose to set
aside a special reflection time to go deeper into relationship through prayer
and Scripture.
The forty days of Lent are
considered a time of sorrow and grief that remembers Jesus was crucified to
give us God’s gift of grace. Through Lent’s loss we begin to recognize the
shadows and barriers we have set around God’s promises and reopen His call to
pursue life under His influence.
Lament goes beyond our very
heartsick trials to consider our even deepest sorrows, including those we may
have hidden from ourselves. A lament is considered a passionate
expression of grief that we often instinctively neutralize because the pain is
too hard to bear.
The “Book of Lamentations”
expresses one of Israel’s worst seasons of history where death, decay, disease,
and disillusion completely separated them from God’s presence individually and
as a chosen nation. It is a brutal and unrelenting scripture. Yet before
healing could be accepted, or God’s grace understood, the darkness needed to be
brought into God’s piercing light. Like a surgeon’s skillful knife removing an
unseen cancer before the spreading poison completely corrupts.
This reflective devotional
journal is a mini-retreat to help become restored. By taking a few moments a
day to pause as listeners we are invited to connect our spiritual hunger with
the loving call God has given. We can recalibrate why Lent can bring a new
beginnings into our lives even in the midst of extreme brokenness.
Blessings, Marcy
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