Release Date: October 22nd, 2025Transformed by Lament
- by Dawne Driedger
Almost ten years ago, I entered a very dark time in my life. It was preceded by a number of significant changes in my life and some serious health issues requiring several weeks of radiation. The emotional nature of my work (which I love), walking alongside congregations and individuals who have their own crises, also contributed. Numerous stressful circumstances converged over a short period of time to create a perfect storm and I began a period of crippling anxiety that took years of recovery.
Everything that I had so carefully put in place for self care failed me. I could no longer read, or colour, or knit, or even pray. Every nerve seemed raw and I jumped at every sudden noise or movement. I had to take a leave from work and wasn’t even able to attend worship for a time. I begged God for relief, for a stop to my crazy swirling thoughts, for anything but THIS.
Scripture is replete with these cries for relief, for help, for deliverance. These prayers are called lament. They bare our souls, leaving us vulnerable and naked before everyone who overhears. To a culture that tends to avoid pain or conflict, they can sound excessively harsh and raw. But lament was the only path to the healing I desired. Lament kept me honest before God and others. This left space for God to work within me. If Jesus could be distressed in the garden of Gethsemane (Mk 14:33-36) I knew he understood my pain. And I believed his promise to be with us always (Mt 28:20) even if I didn’t feel his presence.
God most definitely answered. The path to healing, however, took much longer than I had anticipated. But it came in a much more sustaining way than I had imagined. I have learned to embrace lament as a tool for transformation. Not only does it keep us honest before God and others, but it allows space for God to lift our faces up from the dust so that we can notice where the Spirit is at work around and within us. As James so aptly admonishes us in his letter “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:10)
I will never be the same as I was before. But I feel that I am a better listener, more compassionate, more honest with myself and others. And I've noticed that the communities which embrace lament become safe spaces for those who need it, to cry out to God without feeling alone. I encourage us all to embrace the courage of lament so that we can experience the amazing transformation that God seeks for us and for our communities.
- Dawne Driedger is the interim pastor at Wideman Mennonite Church