Thresholds

 

Happy New Years Eve!!  Insert confetti flying here.  My soul returns to the great line from O Little Town of Bethlehem, “The hopes and fears of the all the years are met in thee tonight.”  Hopes for 2025.  Fears for 2025.  Certainties and conflicts and confusion and exhaustion and elation and…and…and that which we cannot even name because it sits so far back in the cobwebbed corners of our hearts and souls we don’t even see or hear it.  So here is another blessing for the New Year from Jan Richardson:

 

Blessing the Threshold

This blessing has been waiting for you for a long time.

While you have been making your way here,

this blessing has been gathering itself, making ready, biding its time, praying.

This blessing has been polishing the door, oiling the hinges, sweeping the steps, lighting candles in the windows.

This blessing has been setting the table as it hums a tune from an old song it knows, something about a spiraling road and bread and grace.

All this time it has kept an eye on the horizon,

watching,

keeping vigil,

hardly aware of how it was leaning itself in your direction.

And now that you are here, this blessing can hardly believe its good fortune

that you have finally arrived, that it can drop everything at last to fling its arms wide to you, crying

welcome,

welcome,

welcome!!

 

May the blessing of God’s belovedness enfold and hold you this day and as we enter a New Year at midnight tonight.  Amen.