A Lenten Retreat Preview "Book of Lamentations"

A Lenten Journal Excerpt Day One

Day One

Scripture Reading: Lamentations 1:1-2

Personal Reflection

                                        Desolate

Darkened night

desolate streets

not the rest of dreams

nor of peace.

Rather despair spreading

rustling through

bondage packaged

built in reckless.

Abandon over years

a self-designed

city once puffed with pride

crumbles under foundation.

Weeps bitter tears

without hope.

Onlookers scoff

or mourn

lost heritage

lost legacy.

                                                                       

Writing Prompt

       1. In what ways do you identify with this city’s lament? Do you have areas in your life that have changed or been lost?

       2. Have you experienced an enormous loss or a betrayal of a friend?

       3. How are you expressing your disappointment to God? To others?

4     4.  How else has your relationship with the Lord been affected?

Psalm of Worship
“Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers,” Psalm 37:1

Today’s Thought

A Lenten Retreat Preview “Book of Lamentations”

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

A Lenten Retreat Preview "Book of Lamentations"

                                Journal Excerpt Suggestions

           

Through Lent’s loss we begin to recognize the shadows and barriers we set around God’s promises and reopen His call to pursue life under His influence.

This journal is a forty-day retreat to pause and be invited to connect our spiritual hunger with God’s loving gift. We can recalibrate a new beginning into our lives even in the midst of extreme brokenness.

Let the passages, poems, and writing prompts refresh and restore your heart in the Lord’s everlasting grace, either personally or in a small group setting.

 Whether you choose to use this journal as a reference or set up your own study here are some suggestions for daily contemplation.

                                               

                                      Suggestions for Use 

 After reading each Scripture, write your own immediate personal prayer or reflection as “Today’s Thought.” Then choose from the writing prompts a particular focus for yourself. Write it up as a journal entry, a memory, or a vignette. Afterward, read the Psalm quote and write out a brief thought or word to carry through the day as a prayer or focus to meditate on.

May the following passages, poems, and writing prompts refresh and restore your heart in the Lord’s everlasting grace. And form a foundation of hope for present or future sorrow knowing His love is eternal.

                                                  Blessings, Marcy