A Prayer If You’re Feeling Especially Sad This Holiday Season

Courage exists in the act of letting this season be what it is, rather than what you think it should be. God is not distant from you in the heaviness; he is especially near to it. And if the holidays feel more quiet than bright this year, let that quiet be a place where his presence meets you gently, not to rush you forward, but to carry you through. Here is a prayer by Rebecca Simon to help you through the holidays.

God,

This season carries more than just happiness for me. It carries sadness, and exhaustion, and expectations I don’t always know how to meet. You see what feels hopeless in my heart beneath the gatherings and the traditions and the distractions the holidays hold – the things I’m carrying quietly, the emotions I don’t always name. I bring all of it to you without pretending it feels easy.

Help me release the pressure to feel a certain way. Teach me how to move through these days with honesty instead of performance, and peace instead of self-judgment. Sit with me in the moments that feel lonely, steady me when grief or longing rises, and remind me that my worth is not measured by how well I carry this season.

Meet me here, not with urgency, but with presence. Hold what feels heavy, soften what feels unresolved, and guide me gently through these days. Let your nearness be enough – even when joy feels distant, even when the season feels complicated.

Amen.