A Prayer for Christmas 2020

This is a Christmas season like no other.  One in which huge struggles exist beneath the glittering veneer of lights and tinsel.  One in which there is immense heartache and pain below the cheery sounds of Christmas music. A Christmas where the longing to meet family is coloured with absences and anxieties.  And one in which many secretly weep behind close doors. It's a Christmas of brave faces and broken hearts. But also a season of love and kindness. A time of hope amidst the losses of this year. A time to help each other through.

I offer this prayer, with deepest love.

Please feel free to share it with anyone who might be helped by it.

 

May you have a blessed 

and restorative 

Christmas.

 

May you find

a million things to give thanks for

in the midst of dreams and plans disrupted.

 

May you stay safe

and keep others safe too.

 

Where there is loneliness 

may unexpected friendship 

come to cheer your heart.

 

May peace

wash over your anxieties.

 

Where there is sadness

may Christ come to comfort you

and the loving arms of God

enfold you.

 

In the depths of loss and grief

may you be gentle with yourself

and let kindness 

begin to heal you.

 

May your needs be met

and the hope of a brighter future

root itself within your heart.

 

When you need energy

may you be given it,

when you need rest

may you find it.

 

And when you long for bright hints of joy

may they rise up to greet you

like the bubbling laughter of children

or the wonder of sparkling diamonds 

in the snow.

 

May Christmas bless you and restore you

and give you the deepest peace

for all that is yet to be.

  

Amen