I wrote this prayer for anyone who is navigating the holiday season while grieving the loss of a loved one.
My hope is that it can make you feel seen and can bring you some comfort as you process. I hope it can be a prayer that you revisit whenever you need it.
As we prepare to embark on another round of holidays, I wanted to share this prayer again for anyone who may need it. Please feel free to share it with others who it may resonate with as well.
Holding each of you in my heart this season. 🙏🏼🤍
Father God,
You are a God who sees us
In the sorrow, the celebration
And everything between.
And you know all of the ways
That the holidays can feel especially heavy,
And how the season’s greetings
Leave so many feeling
Sorrowful and weary.
In the midst of twinkling lights
And decorated stores,
So many now see empty chairs
And missing pieces.
As the holiday songs ring out,
So many hearts feel unable
To sing along or make sense
Of the heartbreaking and unfair verses of loss
That have now woven their way into
Their life’s soundtrack.
Lord, there are so many
Who are hurting this holiday.
Please give us eyes to
See them and to walk beside them
When they’re aching and afraid
and unsure of what to do.
Lord, in all the ways we
Are heartbroken and weary,
Give us your love
To comfort us every step of the way
as we do our best to remember what is true.
For we know that you
Are a God familiar with grief.
You’ve wept for your loved ones.
Lamented over a broken world
and experienced death’s sting.
But we also know
You will wipe every tear
From every eye.
There will be no more death.
No more pain.
No more separation.
No more love interrupted by loss.
and someday, you will restore everything.
But in the meantime, Lord,
As we navigate the tension,
Please hold us and see
each of us in our sorrow.
Help us feel your presence
When our tender hearts don’t feel ready
To walk down the holiday aisles,
when our souls can’t find
The notes to sing,
or when we don’t know what to expect
from our grief tomorrow.
Cover us in your grace,
Protect us in your loving embrace
As we allow ourselves
To process and navigate the holidays
At our own pace.
And although our hearts
May find it hard to see the light
In this painful season of loss,
Please find ways to soothe
Our souls
And bind our wounds
on our darkest nights.
Please allow the love of those we’ve lost
To greet us in unexpected ways.
Please surround us with support
And draw nearer when
We don’t have the words to say.
Please allow hope to find us
In the warm understanding of a friend
Or the all-knowing eyes
Of the stranger we lock eyes with
At the holiday display
Who seems to understand our pain
With no words being exchanged.
Please allow hope to flicker
Like a strand of gentle Christmas lights
In traditions we carry on
Or in the ones we start anew,
In a shared memory
Or a shoulder to lean on,
Knowing that it takes immense courage
To allow ourselves the chance
To decide how best to continue,
How best to honor the love and the loss
And the grief too.
Please allow hope to fill
The empty spaces at our tables
And in our hearts
Because we know that their love
Continues to be present
In these places
And within each person who carries
Their stories and legacies forward
With them.
You know us by name.
You know our loved ones by name.
Please be with us as we ache.
Please be with us in our pain
And in the myriad of emotions
We can’t quite name.
Please hold us close this holiday.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
So much pain and grief during the holidays. It brings back lost memories of loved ones that are gone. Beautiful prayer.
Thank you Liz for sharing this.
During these first holidays since my child’s passing, I am so much pain and grief, and the many emotions I can’t name. I so desperately need it! 🙏🙏❤️❤️