When Dr. Brown asked me to identify my spiritual practices, I knew exactly what to write. Morning prayer. Daily Bible reading. Bible study. Choir. Prayer meeting. Listening to gospel music. I handed in my assignment feeling pretty confident. I was doing everything I had been taught to do. He returned it with a question: What else? What else... ? I didn't understand the question. What did he mean, what else? I prayed. I read my Bible. I went to Bible study and prayer meeting.

Blue Christmas is not just for those experiencing fresh grief. It is for the grief that has learned how to show up on time. The grief that knows how to smile when expected. The grief that has become quiet enough that others forget it is still there. Blue Christmas holds space for the losses we rarely name out loud— the relationship that ended without closure, the body that no longer feels familiar, the faith that changed shape, the life we thought we would be living by now. T

When we talk about spiritual direction , the word “direction” can be misleading. This is not about me telling you where to go or giving...