For the Lord will not castoff forever, but, though he
cause grief, He will have compassion…
Lamentations 3:31-33
Whether innocent or not, condemned Irish prisoners in the early centuries, were often put on a boat without paddles, food or water. Cast out to sea, they were left to the mercy of the currents and the elements. Their fate was assumed.
Our sorrows are not always a result of our guilt or wrongdoing, nevertheless, like condemned prisoners we are at their mercy. In our condemned boat of sorrow we cry, what have I done? Where is my hope?
A few years ago when I was floating in my own sorrow boat my husband gave me a silver angel with the engraved words, “I know God will give me the strength to endure. I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.” A woman of wisdom and insight, Mother Teresa knew what she was talking about. She had seen and experienced suffering up close.
Perhaps she was right. Our grief and sorrow may be about God trusting us. The pain we feel makes us want only compassion and love. Being entrusted with grief is beyond our abilities. Yes, that’s right, it is beyond our abilities and so our only response can be to trust the God who entrusts us with things beyond our understanding.
Helpless and unable to change the course of our sorrow boat we rely on his compassion and love to guide it to a solid place. The journey will take time. But, our hope is in the God who trusts us.
Lord, thank you for riding with
me in my sorrow boat!
Long or short, I trust you
to journey me to a wide and spacious place.
Amen.
me in my sorrow boat!
Long or short, I trust you
to journey me to a wide and spacious place.
Amen.
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