from the introduction of Unhappy Holidays: Blessings for a Blue Christmas (Herald Press, 2025).
Despite the doctors’ earlier estimates, we now knew this would be our final holiday season together. After one last Christmas morning on the farm, we would move my mother-in-law into a facility where she could receive round-the-clock care as her body slowly shut down.
The cursor blinked on the blank page of my computer screen as Sunday morning drew nearer. What words of hope and peace could I offer when my world didn’t feel merry and bright?
The liturgical calendar reminds us that as Christians we do not live on the world’s time. The church has its own rhythms and rituals to nurture our souls along the discipleship journey and through the worship life of the community of God’s people.
So, I stood before my congregation on the first Sunday of Advent that year and said:
This morning, we light the first Advent candle, in anticipation of God’s justice breaking in. God longs to free us from all that holds us captive to fear, confusion, and even despair. We light this candle as a reminder to take heart. God is coming to make things right.
The heart of Advent is an invitation to renew our commitments to the spiritual practices that form and inform our faith. It is the season for those of us who are weary, for those burdened by grief and loss as we are invited to make space in our hearts and minds to receive anew the many gifts of incarnation.
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 