It's Complicated (Lamentations 3)

We love it when things are simple, when there’s a straight line between cause and effect. We’re conditioned to reduce the complexity of life down to things we can understand. But reality isn’t straight-forward.

Of all the chapters of Lamentations, this one, chapter 3, is the messiest. It’s all over the place. A tone of remorse will shift to anger will shift to assurance. Sometimes the poet is talking to God, sometimes about God. It’s hard to even tell who’s speaking. In short, grief is complicated. Messy. A giant knot that’s not easy to understand or untangle.

We’re invited to put our grief onto the framework of some structure that helps us express the inexpressible; we can remember that we’re not alone, that God is with us, with unending love, new mercy every morning, and great faithfulness. And we’re invited to do this together. To make the concerns of others ours, regardless of who is responsible.