Dear God whose name is every syllable ever spoken in love,
Your people were not meant to live their lives in fear.

Hard, frightening times have come before and they will come again. When the hard times come, let our ears be filled with the grandfather’s booming laugh and the contented gurgling of a newborn falling asleep. Let our sight be filled with flowers in bloom.

Give us the courage to keep celebrating, even when there is sadness in our hearts. When we look at our youth, who are fast becoming wise and brave adults, give us the fortitude to honestly promise that we will not abandon them to the coming world. We will be here with them, applauding their milestones, sharing their struggles, and giving them permission to rest.

When we bless our children, let the fear we carry be overwhelmed by hope. May we hear the completely forlorn way a baby wails when they are fed are clothed and dry and nothing is wrong, and know that that sound is a rallying cry. That sound promises the the future is coming, and however hard it is, there will also be joy.

Let us be joyous together, not as an act of complacency, but as rebellion against the tyranny of despair.

Amen.

—Nate