In the midst of Holy Week, we find ourselves in a unique season of self-isolation and deprivation that coincides with the religious tradition of Lent observed by many Christians. Lent is a time of preparation – a period of giving up or sacrificing something in preparation for something better that is coming. The major difference is that Lent ends on Easter Sunday; and, in the case of the current crisis we’re experiencing, we don’t know what is coming next or when it will end. One way to navigate this period of uncertainty is to turn our attention to what God wants to do in us during this time.
Whenever we enter a season of trials, troubles, or temptations our tendency is to ask “WHY?” Our thoughts often quickly turn to Job in the Old Testament; we can commiserate with his plight and his desperation to understand why God allows such terrible things to happen. Unfortunately, like him, we rarely get the answers we seek.
Theologian, N.T. Wright offers his perspective on this when he says, “…Rationalists want explanations, Romantics want to be given a sigh of relief, but perhaps what we need more than either is to recover the biblical tradition of lament…”. To lament is to express sorrow, mourning or regret over something – and it is what we experience when we ask “why?” and don’t get an answer. This is the time to begin processing; making space to grieve and to search ourselves and God. Isolation and deprivation give us the opportunity to shift our paradigm. If instead of avoiding or denying it, we lean into it and explore it, new things may emerge or become clearer; we can discover more about ourselves and those we’re in relationship with.
We like to have control and authority over what happens in our lives but, in truth, we have very little. The Coronavirus pandemic is a glaring example. The first couple of weeks of quarantine may have seemed a welcomed break in our routine, but as time goes on, the novelty wears off and is replaced by struggle, anxiety and stress as we lose our sense of autonomy and don’t have an end in sight. We can compare this to what the Israelites might have felt when they were led to the edge of the Jordan River (Joshua 3:2) before crossing into the promised land. They didn’t see how; they didn’t know God’s plan or how long it would take. God chose for His people to wait, watch, and depend on Him to come to their aid.
During this time of hardship, temptations are many; we can lose hope and slip into despair, we can become selfish and view others as competitors for limited resources, we can numb the pain with secret sins and self-medicating, we can look for easy answers by shaming and blaming, but none of this will make it or us better. The rest of N.T. Wright’s quote, I feel, holds the answer, “It is no part of the Christian vocation, then, to be able to explain what’s happening and why. In fact, it is part of the Christian vocation not to be able to explain – and to lament instead. As the spirit laments within us, so we become, even in our self-isolation, small shrines where the presence and healing love of God can dwell.”
If this is the case, in times of suffering, the Christian response should also be one of charity. In addition to looking inward, we should look outside of ourselves and ask who around us is hurting and how can we help and support them? There are always opportunities, and where we don’t immediately see them, let’s ask God to show them to us and listen for the voice of His Holy Spirit.
God may not always give us answers, but in every trial we face, He promises to be with us. So, let’s lean into this season, see those around us, and know that God is here, He is working, and He will bring beauty from ashes. We may be experiencing the dark night of the soul today, but the resurrection is coming; we have the hope of Easter at the end of Lent.
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For many, carlota de limón is a nostalgic flavor of their childhood. We’re excited for this opportunity to share this recipe, which is near and dear to our Mexico program staff. In our Mexico children’s program, our two amazing cooks prepare meals 7 days a week for children. If you’ve
17 yrs. old
Entered the program: May 2023
Monica lives with her mother and sister in a two-bedroom mud house roofed with sheet-metal. The community has electricity but no potable water. They must walk long distances to find water sources. Access to health care in the community is very poor; they have one clinic but no medication to offer. There is one primary and middle school but it has no furniture for the students. The main occupation is farming but many people in the community are unemployed and live on less than 1 dollar a day.
Monica comes from a Christian family. Her father died when she was very young and she never knew him. Her mother works as a small-hold farmer to prvide food for the family; she cultivates groundnuts but hardly harvests enough to take care of them. The family usually has two small meals a day, but sometimes they go a whole day without food. Providing funds for Monica and her sister to go to school is difficult without the support of Create Hope; additionally, the inability to afford sanitary supplies also keeps them home from school often.
Plus bonus group fundraising ideas!
