Carson Samson

James Taylor’s 1970 lament, Fire and Rain, has to be the saddest song I’ve heard. I give it a spin anytime I’m feeling melancholy. If I happen to listen to it while in a good mood, then consider that day ruined. I kid. A song written in three parts, the narrative speaks to the loss of Taylor’s friend Suzanne, whose suicide occurred a few years prior: “Just yesterday mornin’, they let me know you were gone. Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you.” 

The song then details Taylor’s battle with drug addiction and depression. Parts of the song were written during a stint in rehab. The third part is Taylor coming to grips with fame and fortune and reflecting on the failure of his original band, Flying Machines, “Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground.”

It’s a common mistake to think that the successful, the “lucky” ones don’t feel the hurt and pain of loss and disappointment. In I will not waste my pain (page 16), Shauna Caldwell presents lament through the eyes of King David, whose rise to power and tumultuous rule of Isreal is well documented and expressed throughout the Psalms. Oversimplifying David’s journey, imagine a sign at the top of the stairs of the observation dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral: To reach the top, you must descend to the bottom. “Lament is cathartic, perhaps even cleansing.” says Caldwell, “My crying, until tears lose their stinging saltiness, leads me to a place where I offer my limp and surrendered self into the arms of God. There I am safe. In my lament, by feeling deeply, I am restored. I rest, then I rise.”

As a nod to Caldwell’s previous article, we thought it fitting to include a Fred Rogers-focused essay, Look for the helpers (page 9) by Canadian Mennonite University student Chloe Friesen.  On page 11, regular columnist Phil Gunther guides the church through discernment and reflection when contemplating change. We received Convention and Assembly summaries from some of our provincial partners—you’ll find them scattered through the pages ahead. As always, my thanks to our many contributors and advertisers; we couldn’t tell the story of Canada’s Mennonite Brethren without you.

As you go about your summer activities, whether they be of leisure or work, I wish you happiness and joy in the Lord. I leave you with a line of hopeful lament:

“Won’t you look down upon me, Jesus?
You’ve got to help me make a stand.
You’ve just got to see me through another day.”

With much respect,
Carson

This editorial first appeared in the July 2021 issue of MB Herald