“When you Don’t Feel Merry and Bright”
“…This blessing
does not mean
to take the night away
but it knows
its hidden roads,
knows the resting spots
along the path,
knows what it means
to travel
in the company
of a friend….”
– excerpt from “Blessing for the Longest Night” by Jan Richardson
Holidays often bring up questions of belonging & longing. Sometimes we cycle around to this year’s holiday and find things different this time around. Sometimes we find changes in our families (due to death or estrangement of loved ones), changes in ourselves, or changes in our lives. Or perhaps we find things the same as they ever were, including our longing that they be wildly different.
There’s a lot of pressure during the holidays to be happy, but there’s also a lot of stress and sometimes downright heartache. If you find yourself sad, lonely, alone, broken, or longing, may you know you are not alone.
This holiday season, may we embrace with joy the times we are thriving, even momentarily, even unexpectedly. May we work hard to draw in those on the margins. May we find chosen family when our blood family cannot love us for who we are.
May we remember that we all, in our beautiful variety and complicated living, are deeply loved.
May your holidays be blessed and be a blessing.
With love,
Rev. Emily