from Unhappy Holidays: Blessings for a Blue Christmas (Herald Press, 2025).
The act of blessing is a way of recognizing sacredness. It is a way of inviting God into all that is unfolding, into our experience both in pain and petition.
The words of invocation are offerings of care and courage for you as you navigate all that the Advent season holds. The blessings are an offering of words for when you may not have them. These are my prayers for you, a claim of hope in the bleak midwinter. Each blessing is a recognition that all parts of our lives have a place in God’s story.
Blessing for the chaos of thresholds
May you dare to hope
when you find yourself in darkness
staring down into the deep,
facing the swirl of chaos.
May you have the courage to step up
to the precipice, a threshold—
to teeter on the edge.
May you dare to hope
when you feel the sweep of the Wind,
hear the whisper of the Divine,
notice the pinprick of Light.
May you have the patience to
sit in the before, on the threshold—
holding on through the not-quite-yet.
May you dare to hope.
For in the
wind and wave,
darkness and light,
chaos and order,
God has come.
And,
God is not done.
We hope this brings you some comfort and joy! You can spread the joy by liking, commenting and sharing this post with others.
Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.
some comfort and joy 