A liturgy for reimagining traditions as a holiday reflection.
Holy King,
We come to the end of another year, carrying the 365 days of learning, growth, sorrows, joys, and everything in between. Let us embrace every thought and hope that comes along with this time of reflection.
Those emotions that feel so complicated and difficult to understand.
The grief of missing home.
Leaving behind family and friends and traditions that we have grown up with.
The grief of feeling distant from it all and understanding that celebrations still happen without us.
Those emotions of joy that come along with the snow and decorations of Advent.
The joy of embracing new cultures and different celebrations.
Embracing our newly made traditions and the found family around us.
The joy of sharing a season often dear and near to our hearts as we celebrate the long-awaited coming of our King of Kings.
May we embrace the missing of beautiful mountain tops and replace it with the joy of vast, mysterious deserts.
May we embrace the loss of white winters and replace it with the joy of tropical warmth and humidity.
May we embrace the grief of leaving familiar climates and replace it with the joy of new experiences.
In this season where we look back and think through the moments that have shaped our year,
We ask that you meet us where we are.
May You see all the sensations we have walked through and guide us.
For we rest in this promise – we are a people shaped by You.
A King whose very being brings unimaginable joy,
Yet also weeps and grieves the brokenness of our world.
May we embrace them both.
We breathe out worry
Breathe in peace.
May we reflect on this past year, accepting any and all emotions that may come with it.
The joy and laughter,
The worries and sorrows,
The hardships and growths,
The learning and endurance.
May we give each feeling the time it needs and grace for each one to guide us on our journeys.
And in the tension of it all, between what was and what will be,
Let our hearts be surprised by, shaped by,
Warmed by, remade by,
The joy that dwells forever within and stretches out its hand to hold us gently.
May we be made whole in You, O God.
Amen.
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