Hearing painful voices

In my one of my classes this week, we’ve been reading the book of Lamentations, a few chapters of poetry in the Old Testament that gives a series of voices and perspectives to suffering. The book was written about the Babylonian Exile, but I felt like I could hear an expression of what life must be like in parts of Haiti and Chile. It is a difficult and heartbreaking work and got me thinking about how little time we spend just listening to these tragic voices amidst the clutter of blame and our efforts to assist. It is something that seems appropriate to reflect on during this season.

Last week, I also started checking out an interesting way to go approach the Lenten season. It is called “Fast, Pray, Give” and it offers a new suggestion for something to fast, something to pray for, and something to give for each day. I am finding it to be helpful in keeping myself from withdrawing from the season by having a fresh look at things each day.

-Jesse K.