Being sad is not a sin.

Lament is far from popular, but for me it’s a frequent choice. Like David in the Bible who bares his soul to God in humility, I desire to be real with God – regardless of how it looks on the outside. Sometimes life is falling apart. Sometimes it’s blowing up. Ok. God sees you. He is not afraid of the mess. He is present. He is holy. He is good.

Allowing my heart to trail along with the words and stanzas while reminiscing on the past is a way that I embrace the hard memories. It’s an invite to remember the hard things, but to be brought through them without getting stuck in an endless cycle of rewinds and ‘should-haves’. It means I’m invited to participate in the reconciliation of the past and the present, and to be reminded of the grace that God has towards His sons and daughters. Not only in the broken places of our lives but rather pointing to the greater work – the grace that God extends to those who surrender to him and make him their Lord that was established by the unfathomably difficult death of his son. It validates thoughts and feelings that are heavy, and creates a space for those burdens to be released to our God.

These songs each have a special place in my heart. Some are slow, some seem peppy. But each one has sat with me in the darkness and pointed me to hope. I pray they do the same for you.