Latest / Family Prayer Podcast / 29. Longest Night - Friday Morning

Transcript

29. Longest Night - Friday Morning · Family Prayer Podcast

• 0:00
  Good morning, Grace Harbor - it’s Dan!
• 0:03
  Happy Friday!
• 0:04
  Just a quick note for the grown-ups: today's episode
• 0:08
  talks about how holidays can be hard for some families.
• 0:12
  We’re going to acknowledge loss and grief,
• 0:15
  which is an important conversation to have.
• 0:18
  I’ve done my best to frame it appropriately for all ages,
• 0:22
  but if you'd like to preview it first, please do.
• 0:25
  Ok, let’s kick things off by checking some listener mail.
• 0:30
  Remember, if you’d like to send something in, have your adult
• 0:33
  check the show notes for details.
• 0:35
  You just might hear your voice on a future podcast!
• 0:39
  “Hi, I’m Juliette.
• 0:41
  I live in Orlando, Florida.
• 0:43
  I’m four years old, and I hope everyone gets presents
• 0:47
  - even me and baby.” “Hi, my name is Emmaline.
• 0:52
  I live in my hometown, and I’m almost ten years old.
• 0:56
  My favorite part of Christmas is seeing that everyone comes together,
• 1:00
  and there’s so many lights,
• 1:03
  and there’s so many fun things to do.
• 1:06
  And, there’s just, you feel so happy at Christmas.
• 1:13
  I’m thankful for
• 1:14
  my mom, my dad, and my brother and sister
• 1:17
  because they’re the ones who, when I come home, they’re
• 1:21
  the people that actually understand me and love me even if I do anything bad.
• 1:28
  They still love me, and they’re never going to leave me.
• 1:33
  Merry Christmas, everybody -
• 1:35
  bye!” “My name is Ellie.
• 1:39
  “And how old are you, Ellie?” “Three.” “Three years old.
• 1:43
  And what is you favorite part of Christmas?” “Santa.” “Santa?
• 1:48
  That’s your favorite part?” “Yeah.” “Have you gotten to meet Santa?”
• 1:52
  “No.” “Not yet?
• 1:54
  But you hope to?” “Yeah.” “Yeah.
• 1:57
  What is Christmas really about?” “Santa.” “Santa.”
• 2:01
  “Yeah.” [Laughing]
• 2:05
  “Hi, my name is Charlie.
• 2:08
  I’m seven years old, and I’m about to turn eight.
• 2:11
  I love spending time with my family.
• 2:15
  I hope that Santa eats all our cookies,
• 2:17
  and I hope the reindeer eat the carrots that we put out,
• 2:21
  so we can actually see if the reindeer actually eat the carrots.
• 2:25
  It’d be pretty cool.
• 2:27
  And Merry Christmas to all of you who are hearing
• 2:30
  this!” That’s so great!
• 2:35
  Hearing your stories always fills me with joy!
• 2:38
  It reminds me that there are families all over
• 2:40
  listening to this podcast together, so keep ‘em coming!
• 2:44
  Ok, so this morning’s
• 2:47
  episode may be a little bit different than you were expecting.
• 2:50
  We’ve been talking about joy all week, yesterday we had the fun of the Christmas
• 2:55
  Market, and here in Grace Harbor, it’s the first day of Christmas break.
• 3:00
  For a lot of us, we’re riding high on excitement.
• 3:03
  But this isn’t true for everyone.
• 3:07
  For some people, Christmas can be a time when they feel sad.
• 3:12
  That’s usually because they’re missing someone.
• 3:15
  Throughout our lives, we have the excitement of new
• 3:17
  relationships like new friends, new neighbors,
• 3:22
  a new baby brother or sister, or even a new pet.
• 3:26
  But there are also times when relationships end.
• 3:29
  Sometimes a friend or neighbor moves to a new school or a new town.
• 3:34
  Sometimes people get in a big argument and stop being friends.
• 3:38
  And sometimes people or pets die.
• 3:41
  And that is really sad.
• 3:45
  When we love someone and we
• 3:47
  don’t really get to see them anymore, we miss them.
• 3:51
  And it’s pretty common to miss them even more around
• 3:55
  special times - like their birthday or, well, Christmas.
• 4:00
  Christmas can be especially tough when everyone else seems
• 4:03
  to be happy and excited, and you’re feeling sad.
• 4:07
  Now, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be happy and excited.
• 4:11
  We totally can.
• 4:12
  But it does mean that there might be people in our life
• 4:16
  who could use a little extra love and support.
• 4:19
  If there’s someone you know who’s feeling sad at Christmas, it’s
• 4:23
  important to tell them that it’s ok to feel that way.
• 4:28
  And if you and your family are having a tough time this year,
• 4:32
  I want to be the one to tell you that it’s ok.
• 4:36
  It’s also important for you to hear that, no matter how you’re
• 4:39
  feeling, Christmas is for you.
• 4:42
  And the things we’ve been talking about the last couple of weeks -
• 4:46
  hope, peace, and joy - they’re for you, too.
• 4:51
  Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus.
• 4:54
  But Jesus didn’t just come so that we could have parties.
• 4:58
  Part of why Jesus came was so that
• 5:00
  people who are feeling sad could find comfort.
• 5:04
  Can you think of a time when you were sad and someone made you feel better?
• 5:09
  Take a few moments and share with each other who it was
• 5:12
  and what they did to help you feel better.
• 5:15
  It doesn’t need to be anything super big.
• 5:17
  Maybe there was a time when you were just feeling bummed,
• 5:19
  and someone in your family gave you a big, warm hug.
• 5:23
  If you need more time, you can pause the podcast,
• 5:26
  and I’ll be right here when you get back.
• 5:57
  Thank you for doing that.
• 5:59
  Sharing about sad times isn’t easy,
• 6:02
  but I hope you heard stories about how much it means
• 6:05
  to have the love and support of others when we’re feeling sad.
• 6:09
  This weekend actually includes a special day that’s focused on supporting
• 6:14
  those who are having a tough time this Christmas.
• 6:17
  The date this Sunday is December 21,
• 6:20
  and in the top half of the globe, it’s known as the Winter Solstice.
• 6:25
  It’s when that top half is tilted the furthest away from the sun,
• 6:28
  which means Sunday night into Monday is the longest night of the year!
• 6:33
  Some churches do a special worship service around then.
• 6:37
  It might be called a Longest Night Service or a Blue Christmas Service.
• 6:42
  It’s a chance to name that we’re sad
• 6:45
  and ask God to be with us and comfort us.
• 6:48
  If this sounds like something that would be meaningful for your family,
• 6:52
  you might be able to find a church in your area doing a similar service.
• 6:56
  And even if you’re not feeling sad this Christmas, you can still go
• 7:00
  as a way of being with and supporting those who are feeling sad.
• 7:04
  Ok, I know this morning
• 7:06
  has been kind of heavy, but it’s important to talk about things like this.
• 7:10
  And like we said earlier, you can still go out and have fun
• 7:14
  and feel all the excitement
• 7:15
  of either the last day of school or the first day of Christmas break.
• 7:20
  In fact, tonight, we’re going to finish out the week by talking
• 7:23
  about how we can all be full of joy, no matter how we’re feeling.
• 7:27
  Ok, let’s close in prayer.
• 7:30
  Instead of me making it up, I want to share with you a short
• 7:33
  prayer that comes from one of those Longest Night services.
• 7:37
  If you want to, you can close your eyes and fold your hands.
• 7:41
  Dear God, please hold us close in your embrace.
• 7:46
  Be near to us this night, until the light returns and morning comes.
• 7:51
  Amen.
• 7:52
  Ok, Grace Harbor.
• 7:53
  Have a great Friday, and I’ll talk to you tonight.