As longtime readers know, I am a self-proclaimed Swiftie. One line that has been stuck in my mind since the presidential inauguration comes from her song Fortnight, “All my mornings are Mondays stuck in an endless February.” When I hear that I line I think of some of the states I have lived in-particularly the northeast and/or midwest where February is a melancholy, cold month. By this time the snow has either melted or become a slushy mess. And Mondays are-well I don’t need to describe it. I think the spiritual equivalent of this line is saying that we are stuck in an endless loop of Lent. This year, Lent doesn’t start until March 5, but if I’m honest, it felt as if it began the day after the election results were announced and has only accelerated.
Since Jan 20th, it has been a whirlwind of executive orders, court statements, firings, and whiplash. The days have been alternating between frantic chaotic energy and deep seated lethargic depression. So many of us want to believe in Easter Sunday but right now we are living in the midst of a Lent.
The question on everyone’s mind is: how do we get through the next few weeks, let alone the next few years? And unfortunately, there are no easy answers. The reality is that for many of us, particularly those of us whose marginalized identities intersect with the hatred espoused by the Executive Branch, things are only going to get worse before they get better. Sorry, if you were looking for some cheery, optimistic one liners-you will have to look somewhere else.
But in the midst of all of this dumpster fire, yes, we need to practice self-care and try to do what we can to bring ourselves even a tiny bit of joy. We need to try and limit our news consumption and find community where we can. All of those are good and necessary. And we also need to give ourselves time to mourn. If Lent needs to be four years long, then so be it. But we need to grieve and mourn. Especially those who are/will be on the receiving end of the unjust laws and orders of the US government. I firmly believe Easter Sunday will one day come…but the reality is, it won’t be here for a long time/
Psalm 22 is one of my favorite psalms. I can understand why Matthew has Jesus quote the first line as he is dying on the cross. Yes it is a Psalm that has hopeful moments interspersed but it is also one that captures the agony and betrayal of living through an endless season of Lent. It speaks about the hope of a powerful God, but it acknowledges the reality of not being able to experience that God and of feeling abandoned. And Jesus quoting that Psalm is recognition that as a human, God also experienced the type of suffering that comes from utter helplessness and betrayal.
I wish this blog post could be a hopeful here are 10 things we can do to survive the next four years. But there are plenty of posts like that, some with more helpful advice than others. Instead, I am reminding you that it’s ok to grieve and to get angry. God can handle our pain and even more, God experiences that pain with us.
Image: crown of thorns lying on a white backdrop. Text: As a human, God also experienced the type of suffering that comes from utter helplessness and betrayal.