Comfort in Challenging Times

I shared this reflection with staff and volunteers from Coastal Hospice last week.

As we begin, I invite you to grab a pen and paper if you are somewhere safe to write things down. If you are driving, please be careful and do not attempt to write anything down when we reach this part of our time together.
Our lives have been turned inside out and upside down this year. What once was routine or normal is now no longer the way it is done. I do not need to tell you any of this as you are living it. And yet, sometimes it is helpful to say out loud what is happening in our lives.
“Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God” Isaiah 40:1. What brings you comfort in these challenging times? Before you leap to answer that question, let me share a definition of comfort which is “a pleasant feeling of being relaxed and free from pain.”
Now, I invite you to make a list for yourself of what brings you comfort. We’ll have a time of silence as we write our list.
(Silence).
I shared that I find comfort in a hot cup of tea. I take the mug in both hands and bring it close to my face. I feel the warmth and smells calm me.

I hope you will take the time to do that which comforts you in the coming days, and maybe share your list with others so together we can comfort each other.
Please reach out to others when what has always been comforting is no longer working for you.
Let us pray-
Loving God, Comfort us! Hear us! Continue to love us! We need you today! We need each other today! Bless the work that we do and give us the strength to carry on. Amen.