This blessing may come as a song or a silence;
As hearty bread or exquisite sorbet;
As belly laughter or gentle hug,
As enlivening idea or painstaking process.

This blessing might rest on you, gently, in the deep, star-filled night,
Or push, pull, and play among sunbeams and cold breezes.
This blessing might hide, especially when you are most desperate to see it.
And then, all of a sudden, there it is.
            Or isn’t.
Or maybe, probably, it is in that other place, the place you didn’t think to look;
            The place you least expected to find it.

This blessing of joy is a shape-shifter
And so we miss it sometimes.
But trust me, it is around here, somewhere,
Always waiting on the edges
And nestled deeply in the center Of who God created you to be.          

You can see a video of me giving this blessing to my congregation here.