2 Blessing-Poems for Those Not Very  Jolly

Jan Richardson is a superb writer, artist, and ordained minister. I treasure her books, her blog posts, her paintings, her poems, and her blessings. And often many of these elements are combined together (see links below).

She posted two Blessing-Poems for folks not feeling so jolly this season. They are both excellent, and I pray that one or both will impact some people as needed. She has written long and personal introductions to each; go to her website to read those.

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Advent 3: Home with Rejoicing
http://adventdoor.com/2011/12/11/advent-3-home-with-rejoicing/

Blessing to Summon Rejoicing

When your weeping
has watered
the earth.

When the storm
has been long
and the night
and the season
of your sorrowing.

When you have seemed
an exile
from your life,
lost in the far country,
a long way from where
your comfort lies.

When the sound
of splintering
and fracture
haunts you.

When despair
attends you.

When lack.
When trouble.
When fear.
When pain.

When empty.
When lonely.
When too much
of what depletes you
and not enough
of what restores
and rests you.

Then let there be
rejoicing.

Then let there be
dreaming.

Let there be
laughter in your mouth
and on your tongue
shouts of joy.

Let the seeds
soaked by tears
turn to grain,
to bread,
to feasting.

Let there be
coming home.

—Jan Richardson, © 2011

“Blessing for Rejoicing” appears in Jan’s new book Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons. You can find the book here.

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Blessing for the Longest Night
http://adventdoor.com/2011/12/19/winter-solstice-blessing-for-the-longest-night/

All throughout these months,
as the shadows
have lengthened,
this blessing has been
gathering itself,
making ready,
preparing for
this night.

It has practiced
walking in the dark,
traveling with
its eyes closed,
feeling its way
by memory,
by touch,
by the pull of the moon
even as it wanes.

So believe me
when I tell you
this blessing will
reach you,
even if you
have not light enough
to read it;
it will find you,
even though you cannot
see it coming.

You will know
the moment of its
arriving
by your release
of the breath
you have held
so long;
a loosening
of the clenching
in your hands,
of the clutch
around your heart;
a thinning
of the darkness
that had drawn itself
around you.

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.

So when
this blessing comes,
take its hand.
Get up.
Set out on the road
you cannot see.

This is the night
when you can trust
that any direction
you go,
you will be walking
toward the dawn.

—Jan Richardson,, © 2011
from The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief

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One easy way to keep up with Jan’s prolific writings and art is by ‘liking’ the “Art + Faith Community” she hosts on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/artandfaith/?fref=nf

Also, you you can find Jan’s distinctive artwork, writing, and more at her blogs and websites:

The Painted Prayerbook

The Advent Door

Devotion Café

Jan Richardson Images

Sanctuary of Women

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Painting:  Shall Come Home with Joy © Jan Richardson
http://adventdoor.com/2011/12/11/advent-3-home-with-rejoicing/

image

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