Mary-Lou and I were at our favourite restaurant on the Curry Mile this evening – Fatoosh. Over the speakers Damien Rice was singing and we agreed that his music was quite sad. I really liked what I was hearing, having never really heard his stuff, and wondered why there aren’t equally talented Christians writing this kind of sad, melancholic music.

I remembered listening to a CD of Peter Mayhew talking about the Lament in the Bible and noting that very few popular worship songs sung today are laments. Most of them are praise or adoration songs, often based on Psalms yet most of the Psalms were laments.

It dawned on me that many popular secular songs are laments talking about lost love, painful experiences or broken hearts.

I wondered whether God had broken my heart.

I feel that God has broken my heart by allowing Amy to die. He had the power to save her but didn’t resulting in all this pain and suffering I have felt, do feel and will feel. My heart for Amy was broken since I am not able to express my love for her to her int he million ways I wanted to. And my heart for God was broken since he didn’t stop something from happening which damaged me immensly.

He has allowed me to suffer and feel deep, aching pain, most of which I have yet to face and it has broken me and my heart, or love, for God.

How can you mend a broken heart?