Real Lament

As I'm writing my paper on the intermediate state of the soul between death and the day of resurrection I lament that in this day and age, there are not many songs written today that help people, especially Christians, to deal with tough emotions. Songs that help us be honest with our pain and struggles, and teach us to truly lament. We have songs for thanksgiving, rejoicing, resting and releasing our burdens, even of toiling and working for God, and if I may add, victory in Christ. Songs of brokenness are usually related to repentance of sin and Christ's suffering on the cross. Is this a sign that we are unfamiliar with hardships? I doubt so. Do we give permission for people to lament and even voice our frustration and rage? Such songs are rare, if at all. If we truly believe that all emotions that we experience are valid and do not carry any moral judgment, then we must validate the expressions of such emotions. If not, then we can understand why Christians often feel the Church is not a safe place to express our hopelessness and despair, grief and anger... it seems there is no place for failure, much less, to talk about it. Many have expressed that it is easier to share with non-Christian friends because they have less expectation and are often less judmental. Failures and struggles are not automatically equated with sin or lack of trust in God, but part of being human. Even when it comes to confessing our sins, we often feel more comfortable confessing to a non-Christian friend than our Christian leaders. At least we know it won't be held against us for years to come ... It is sad and I don't blame them for thinking that Christians are hypocritical! Can you imagine if everytime we spoke to each other, we caveat it with a declaration, "Hello everybody, my name is Cheryl and I'm a sinner" (which means I'm a Christian and God is at work in me)?

I was happy to come across this site ... it has a list of songs and resources for helping us deal with the rough patches of life. Some of these lyrics are hard core honest.