My COVID-19 Lament

Last week in a Trauma Healing group we explored the genre of lament. Lament is simply an expression of grief. And grief is mourning a loss.

Where has the genre of lament been all my life?

When we came to the exercise of writing our own lament, the turmoil of my heart flooded onto paper. I felt a deep sense of validation by this genre that had its own unique purpose and parameters.

In many ways I feel drawn to grief. Just as some people are the life of a party, I feel connected to others in times of grief–it’s when our hearts are most vulnerable and we are in a place to process raw emotions. Grief is a significant part of life, and as a culture I’m not sure we do it very well.

So here is my current lament–an expression of my grief about the pandemical state of our world. A complaint taken directly to the Divine.

O God—enough is enough!

How long must people—Your people made in Your image—all over the earth suffer?

We are sick.

We are dying.

We struggle to breathe.

We are made to grieve.

How long will this go on?

You’re the One who put breath in our lungs.

You can make this stop.

You can make this matter.

We have wandered far.

Gather us back with fresh air and fresh Spirit.

Turn our eyes and our hearts and our breath towards you,  

That we may cry out to you with all that is within us.

You alone are Life-Giving God for all people.

Come quickly.  Bring life. 

Bring healing to our bodies and souls and to all the nations.

Be the breath in our lungs and the praise on our tongues.

Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, 

praise His holy name. 

Praise the LORD, my soul— 

The One who forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases. 

I will wait on you.

I will wait for you.

I will wait with you.

I expect you to make our struggles matter.

You are worthy of all our praise with all our breath.

Then all the earth will shout Your praise.

Our hearts will cry, these lungs will sing:

Great are You, Lord. Great are You, Lord.