Dear Friends,
About the Author
As we enter a season of gratitude, many of us will sit around tables with family and friends with whom we have shared a lifetime. For some of us this time will be filled with joyous laughter and heartfelt connections, and for others of us this time only reinforces the disconnect we feel, and reminds us of loss and pain. My prayer for each of you is that no matter what you bring with you to the table, or what awaits you when you walk through that door, that you will walk the path of life, and allow Spirit to lead you in the way of blessing. With Gratitude, Jenny Shultz-Thomas
The Blessingway
Written by Talitha Arnold,
November 18, 2018, reprinted from ucc.org
"You show me the path of life." - Psalm 16:11
"We must remember the worlds our ancestors traveled," writes Luci Tapahanso, the Poet Laureate
of the Diné (Navajo) people.
"Always wear the songs they gave us…
Remember we are made of prayers.
Now we leave, wrapped in blankets of love and wisdom."
Tapahanso draws deeply on the Dine understanding of hózhónÃ, a word that means both beauty
and blessing. Central to Dine spiritual traditions is the hózhónjà or Blessingway, a healing prayer
ceremony. Unlike other healing ceremonies, the Blessingway’s purpose isn’t to cure illness, but
instead to restore right relationships with one’s self, other people, the rest of creation, and even
the cosmos.
Throughout the Blessingway, one prays for that balance and harmony: "May it be blessed before me, may it blessed behind me, may it be blessed above me and below me, may it be blessed all around me. May I always walk in blessing."
Psalm 16 also prays for God’s presence to surround the journey. "I keep the Lord always before me;" the Psalmist proclaims, "God is at my right hand." Like the Blessingway, Psalm 16 affirms the blessing of that presence: "Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices … You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy."
The path of life. The way of blessing. Whether Hebrew or Dine, the promise is the same. God is with us on the journey, wrapping us in blankets of love and wisdom, blessing us with beauty every step of the way.
Prayer
May we remember we are made of prayers. May we know God’s path of life. May we always walk in blessing. Amen.
About the Author
Talitha Arnold is Senior Minister of the United Church of Santa Fe (UCC), Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is the author of Mark Part 1 and Mark Part 2 of the Listen Up! Bible Study series and Worship for Vital Congregations.