Hear My Cry, O Lord

from Elliott
Today we focused on grief and losses. We noted that as God severs our roots and brings our story in our home country to a close, that we will feel an unfolding loss and enter into a period of grieving. We will feel a loss of identity, stable home or nest, friendships, family relationships and others. In order to better understand the feeling of loss that we have and to learn productive ways to deal with that loss we were encouraged to ‘cry out to God ‘by writing a lament on one of a number of sheets identified by a particular type of loss.

As we prepare to move, I find myself without a job to explain my value to society, soon(very soon I hope!) to be without a home and venturing into unknown territory. Yes, I am finding myself without an identity or at least certainly not anywhere near the one I have enjoyed previously. So my crying out to God involved my growing loss of identity. I wrote…

“Who am I? I know that I am yours but what does that mean? How does that express itself in your plan for our life in South Africa? Allow me to be a blank sheet that you will write upon. Use bold strokes and vibrant colors. May I reflect fully your creation in me.”