I’ve been learning anew that Advent is more than a countdown to Christmas. It’s an aching, honest look at the depth of our lack, the ways we need the Holy to help and restore us. To save us. If there is anything that’s clear after this deeply hellacious year, it’s that things aren’t as they should be. And yet, it is also a reminder of how and why we have hope and what for.

Lament is more than acknowledging loss. It is letting ourselves experience and express pain, so it does not turn into violence directed at us or others.