"the Psalms should be a reminder to us all that God is still there, God is still good, and God is still worthy of all the praise. "(http://blog.blackhawkchurch.org/the-beauty-of-the-book-of-psalms-a-curated-spotify-playlist/)
I have been spending the summer in the Psalms with my church family at Solanabeach.church. To be honest, I wasn't sure I could do it. Spending the summer in the Psalms has become a routine and lamenting in the midst of summer fun and festivities has often been a challenging fit. How do you Chase Joy when your church asks you to sit in lamenting? I wasn't sure I was up for the challenge.
So here we are 6 weeks in - smack dab in the middle of lament.
Now, I have to admit this summer's series has been significantly less focused on lamenting. We have been combining the Psalms with ACTS (Adoration, Confession/Lament, Thanksgiving, Supplication) so we have also just had 3 weeks off from lamenting and I know the next three weeks will also be a reprieve. I also should admit a friend who isn't on this Psalm journey with us posted a video yesterday about lament being transformed into praise. Such a reminder to me that we serve a God who meets us where we are at but doesn't leave us there.
As I started this summer's Psalm series I was determined to find it life-giving even as I dreaded it. My experience of God has been that he likes to surprise me and to transform grief, hurts, and pain. I have also been raised that Scripture, God's Word, is life-giving and I have memorized proof-texts to go with that belief (which I have kept front and center as I have walked through the Psalms this summer). ACTS has been a perfect companion to that.
Now, to throw a side-note in here, our summers are normally filled with weeks of play, Vacation Bible Schools (a.k.a. High-Energy Week-Long Parties), Summer Camp (intense adventure, rest, and recreation), as well as lazy days and exploration. So Summer 2020 has had to be rethought in mostly every imaginable way. There has been a natural mingling of loss and joy. A 15,12 and 11 year old ensure my experience is constantly mingled with a roller coaster of other emotions and perspectives. Not only am I dragging myself to the Psalms for the summer but I am also trying to develop a desire, thirst for Scripture in them as I parent/disciple.
How do you encourage enthusiasm when you feel no enthusiasm yourself?
Six weeks in I have found it a lot easier than expected...of course we still have 6 weeks to go.
So back to ACTS. My kids' discipleship has looked very different from mine. By the time I was their ages I had read my Bible cover-to-cover, could recite verse after verse from memory, excelled at Bible Trivia, and could readily pronounce all the books of the Bible as well as their order. My kids can locate any Scripture (regardless of translation) by a quick request to Google or Alexa. YouTube provides endless instruction or commentary on most any question they inquire about. And, when it comes to identifying locations: why look at a map when you can pull up a 3D tour with the touch of a button?
So can we just say that enthusiasm for sitting with a Psalm for a week at a time wasn't a natural response? A desire to delve into "the trees of Lebanon" didn't make their summer bucket list. My creativity after weeks of distance learning was dried up. I was wallowing with Solomon in his declaration in Ecclesiasties that there is nothing new under the sun.
This was a good space to start our exploration of Psalms: ACTS of Worship, because looking up to God --focusing on adoration (the A of ACTS) -- tends to put life back into perspective. And "Chair" time (commonly referred to as quiet time, solo time, daily devotional time, etc) seemed like an achievable goal. After all, the research supports it (Reveal, Gallop, Pew). Bibles, journals, and chairs (spaces to sprawl) were all readily accessible for use. My 6th grader even had a church supplied box of fun-filled activities to equip her and her family. And time seems readily available in Summer 2020. So when this "practice" seemed hard we talked about discipline and perseverance , the fact that playing soccer wasn't all play. And as Confession/Lament and Thanksgiving came and went I wondered if I had the endurance for what I had considered a simple task. I found myself justifying - we were using short Psalms, easily memorizable if the desire was even minimal. Why was something that was supposed to be good and life-giving, so hard? Surely, with practice, it was supposed to get easier. Maybe the research was wrong. Maybe times have changed and discipleship isn't needed anymore. It was clear nothing we were doing was capturing their imagination. Bibles, journals, chairs, and even boxes of fun-filled activities weren't creating the dynamic space of spiritual growth I had envisioned.
I believe all scripture is life-giving, not just my favorite parts. My intentionality, personally, was improving my attitude towards "another summer" in the Psalms. God had new things to show me each day as I submitted to God and my community. Why weren't my kids getting as much out of this? Their attitude starting out had been a lot better than mine.
I looked to the experts. I asked youth leaders, other parents, researchers, authors. Some chalked it up to the mystery of God, divine revelation. Others offered words of blame and shame. Some skirted the questions offering diversion or a different path.
As the weeks wore on I debated whether I just needed to wait on God to give a desire for Scripture to my children. I wondered at the fact that we don't instruct kids in other subjects that way. Here, sit with these formulas a few minutes everyday and you will learn to love math, organic chemistry, or physics. I reflected on my own journey and talked with others who have a love of God and his Word. I found other teens and pre-teens who had a love for God's Word. I asked questions of my kids...and then asked more. I looked at the resources they had to unpack Scripture. I asked what questions they were asking and what methodologies they were using. We reflected on their experiences and teachings they have received over the years and how they might apply to the Psalms. We have thought back together on how they have experienced God all the while taking determined steps to explore the Psalms.
As we have walked through ACTS we have seen how Adoration (our humble understanding of who God is and what he does) shapes our understanding of Scripture. "I wonder...what this Psalm says about God". And as we wonder together both our knowing and the mystery grow. We look at Confession/Lament and privately and communally ask, How can we live better, be more obedient, embrace freedom more readily? Thanksgiving seems to come more naturally when we have let Scripture shape our lives. Supplication, asking, is transformed - why not go big? Dream the impossible. Step out courageously. Rest peacefully. Play hard. Tackle the insurrmountable.
Or just hope that tomorrow there will be a Bible, journal, and chair calling your name so you can step into ACTS again, experiencing the Psalms in conversation with our God, who "is still there, ...still good, and... still worthy of all the praise."
