The Longest Night

This week (on Dec 21, to be exact) is the winter solstice, which marks the official beginning of winter, as well as the shortest day of the year in the Northern hemisphere. This makes that night the longest night of the year. A few churches that I have attended have a special service called the Longest Night Service, to hold space for people grappling with darkness of all kinds during the busyness and bright lights of the holiday season. This week's post is inviting you to do the same.

On the longest night of the year, I want to remind you that the darkness is not forever. Our grief does not go away, but we grow and change around it, and it becomes less overwhelming.

On the longest night of the year, I want to remind you that there are corners where the festivities have not reached. It's okay if you sit in one for a few minutes, to catch your breath and come back to yourself as the holidays try to carry you away.

On the longest night of the year, I want to remind you that the darkness that you feel will not always be this deep and this dark. As the days become longer, the nights grow shorter. There will be days when the darkness doesn't seem to come at all. Take joy in those days.

There will be space for sun again, even when the night seems neverending.