The Blessing

Did you hear what what the Pastor just said..."Find a partner and do what?" Wait a minute what else is he saying..."We are going to give each other a blessing." I'm not sure what that means. I don't think anybody else did either because as I looked around everybody was still just sitting there. Nobody was getting up and moving. Maybe he'll just forget all about it.

Oh no! He's saying it again, "If you are with your family, get together with your family." But what about me? But I'm all by myself. What do I do? I could feel myself getting really nervous. He's speaking again, "If you are by yourself, find a partner." What does that mean? I don't really know anyone very well so if I don't move then I won't have to do anything since the rest of my family and friends aren't here. You know if I just stare straight ahead and don't make eye contact - everything will be okay because hopefully nobody will notice me. But that's exactly when she spotted me and sat down beside me and asked, "do you mind if we do the blessing together"? What could I say, except for I guess that would be great. I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

She took my hands, looked into my eyes and repeated these words after the Pastor, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" - Matthew 5:14,16. What a great feeling I had as she said those words. I couldn't help, but smile to myself.

I'm sure many people in our church had mixed emotions last weekend as they were asked to find someone and share the blessing with someone they might not know very well. We were asked to step out of our comfort zones. But as people shared their stories with me...I heard that children were beaming because their parents were sharing God's blessing with them in a way that had never happened before, I heard that their were tears of joy from strangers that had never experienced this before in that way. The family of God was sharing God's love with one another, and doing in a way that nobody would be excluded. What a powerful moment!

But we want to extend this not only to the church family, but to our families at home where we can share God's abundant grace and love everyday. If you haven't had a chance to read "The Family Blessing" by Rolf Garborg - I would encourage you to do so. It's a beautiful book discussing the journey of doing a blessing for your family. He tells this story about a friend of his:

This friend started doing a blessing for his children and he at first started out with a simple blessing: "God bless you with grace and peace in Jesus' name. Amen." But then he wanted to add more so he said, "God bless you with grace and peace, power and protection, health and healing, holiness and godliness, abundance and prosperity, and all the fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name. Amen". That's quite a list of blessings to remember.

One evening, this man was exhausted from a particularly demanding day, and as he blessed his children, he accidentally forgot a portion of the blessing. Immediately his young daughter interrupted. "Dad," she insisted, "don't forget the power and protection. That's important." Even a six year old was paying close attention, knowing every word was important.

My prayer for all of you is to continue to do a family blessing in your homes - this can be for your children, spouse or friends. If you need help getting started, just let me know - the hard part is actually getting started...Rolf writes, "Getting started with the blessing of your children is a little like replacing a light bulb. It really isn't much work when you actually do it; it doesn't take much time, and the results are better than you thought".

Share your experiences with giving a blessing in your family.