A Prayer for Peace in Extended Family

Prince of Peace,

Only with your help

will this Christmas be different

in my extended family gatherings.

Teach me peacemaking

to replace my peace-stealing

this year.

Prince of Peace, I take comfort

knowing your family rejected

and misunderstood you,

not appreciating

the scope of your purpose.

I take comfort

knowing many came back to you

in the end.

I take comfort knowing

you did not chase after them

but you let them go

and didn’t look back.

You called everyone who followed you

your mother and brothers.

That includes me

so many years later.

This Christmas

may not be meant

for rebuilding

or reconciliation

in my family.

But you will fill me

with your perfect peace

which passes all understanding

so I may gift it

in the empty spaces

battle zones

and time-worn pathways.

Set a guard on my lips

and my heart, Lord.

Help me weigh my choices:

a few minutes of listening

forgetting past hurts

and overlooking wrongs

in exchange for peace.

Give me the gifts of self-control

gentleness

kindness

patience

and brotherly love

so they will overflow

onto those

who share my name

or share my genes.

Send your Spirit

to show me opening

windows and doors

to give me awareness

of peace-seeking

to grant me insight

into healing paths.

Prince of Peace, you are

my Star of David,

my guiding light through

past wounds and deep brokenness

and my northbound hope

toward peaceful days

to come.

This poem-prayer was based on a chapter in my book below. See the online Bible study entry for Peace in my Extended Family also.

Looking for more Christmas hope? Check out my book, Christmas Peace for Busy Moms, and my recent blog series, Trading Anxiety for Peace.

For the next three weeks of the Advent season, I’ll be sharing Advent prayers here on the blog. They will be short, easy reads to lift you up in your busy days. I’ll also have batches of book reviews for you on Tuesdays, in case you need some last-minute Christmas gift ideas.

Also, I’m SO excited that I will be featured on the (in)courage blog on December 23 with a special Christmas-themed post. I hope you’ll take a minute or two to read it on that day, and let me know what you think!

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