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Think of the year
as a house:
door flung wide
in welcome,
threshold swept
and waiting,
a graced spaciousness
opening and offering itself
to you.

Let it be blessed in every room.
Let it be hallowed
in every corner.
Let every nook
be a refuge
and every object
set to holy use.

Let it be here
that safety will rest.
Let it be here
that health will make its home.
Let it be here
that peace will show its face.
Let it be here
that love will find its way.

Here
let the weary come
let the aching come
let the lost come
let the sorrowing come.

Here
let them find their rest
and let them find their soothing
and let them find their place
and let them find their delight.

And may it be
in this house of a year
that the seasons will spin in beauty,
and may it be
in these turning days
that time will spiral with joy.
And may it be
that its rooms will fill
with ordinary grace
and light spill from
every window
to welcome
the stranger home.

• Author
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Rev. Jan Richardson

Director at The Wellspring Studio, LLC

Jan Richardson is an artist, writer, and ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. She serves as director of The Wellspring Studio, LLC, and makes her home in Florida. Her books include Night Visions, In the Sanctuary of Women, and her most recent book, The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief. janrichardson.com

Latest posts by Rev. Jan Richardson (see all)

• The Year as a House - January 1, 2020
• Blessing for the Brokenhearted - October 1, 2018