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I've added some new thoughts to this annual post.
Please do share this with others who might find it helpful...
Dear God,
There's an empty chair near the tree,
an ache in our hearts
and tears on our faces...
We may try to shield one another
from the grief we bear
but we cannot hide it from you...
We pray for (names)
whose presence we miss so much
in these days of peace and joy...
Open our hearts and minds
to the healing, the warmth,
the light of your presence...
We pray, Lord, and we trust
that each one we miss
has found the place you've prepared for them:
a home within your heart...
Open up our hearts, Lord,
to joyful memories of the love we shared
with those who've gone before us...
Be with us when we remember
Christmas eves and morns now past
and sing and cry our way
through Christmas carols
in the heart's deep silent night...
Give us the grace to smile
when, for just a moment,
we reach to choose a gift for one
who no longer needs a gift beneath the tree...
Help us tell again the stories
that make the past now warmly present
and bring us close again
to those we miss...
Help us lean on you, Lord,
and on each other,
for the strength we need
to walk this week
our path of tears and joy...
And give us quiet moments
with you, with our thoughts,
with our memories and our prayers...
Be with us, Lord,
and hold us in your arms
as we pray you hold those
who've gone before us...
Help us to trust that one day
we shall be again with those we love
when your mercy gathers us together
in the joy your kingdom promises...
Help us find and unwrap
the greatest gift of all, the gift of peace,
delivered long ago in Bethlehem,
wrapped in swaddling clothes:
Jesus, born of Mary,
Christ, the Prince of peace...
This is the Christmas you've made, Lord,
the only one we'll have this year:
help us all rejoice, even in our sadness,
and come to know the blessing
of your peace...
Amen.
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