Grief on the Way to Wholeness
Liturgical Prayer written by Julie Yeeun Kim
Prayer shared at the Honor Summit 2025 Retreat: Whole.
God who authors all kindness and goodness, may your presence be full among us as we name our pain and walk the road toward wholeness with you.
Lord, we hold in our hearts all the women who struggle to forgive a wrong committed against them. We pray for women whose hearts are holding bitterness and resentment. And we hold special tenderness for the women who know that the unforgiveness is hurting themselves but still struggle to loosen the grip of their anger. Remind us that you do not scold us, but your loving kindness leads us to change.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for each woman who is mourning the dreams that never came true, the dreams that slipped through our fingers, despite our very best efforts, or the dreams that we have had to let go of in the hard and demanding journey of life. Teach us to be courageous in embracing the new dreams that you are filling our lives with. Or, teach us to be courageous in embracing what has been given to us and gratefully learn to appreciate them.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We lift up all the women who have lost someone important to them, in all the ways people can be lost: to separations of time and circumstance, to disagreement and difference, and to death. Parents, parent figures, children, siblings, friends, mentors – we recall the gift of their presence and send them back to you. Show us your perspective and how in your infinite wisdom you hold our past, present, and our future.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We hold in our hearts all the women who are experiencing loss through life transitions, whether that is a church community, a neighborhood or home, a familiar life stage, a new workplace, or even a new family. Sometimes even good changes can break our hearts. Refresh our spirits so that we can rise to meet the new, even as we cherish and mourn what we once had.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We lift up all the women who have numbed themselves from feeling pain in order to survive the chaos and confusion of the world. Sometimes we make a habit of disconnecting ourselves from our true feelings and our true needs, and over time we struggle to come back to our truth.
But you are our unbreakable safe space. Surround each of us with people of peace who allow us to be honest, safe, and vulnerable.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for all the women who are grieving their relationship to their bodies: we pray for the women whose bodies don’t work the way they used to… for women whose bodies don’t look the way they used to, or the way they hope it would… for women whose bodies aren’t loved and appreciated the way they would like to. We also pray for women whose bodies and boundaries have been violated. May we not despise and look down on what you have said is “wonderfully and fearfully made.” Fill us with hope for a world full of your justice.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We gather around the women who are dealing with illness, personally or as they watch a loved one suffer. You are the Lord who heals, but your timing is beyond our control. Help us to be fully present with you in the tension of seeking healing and of knowing that we are mortal humans. Lord, we yearn for the day when suffering will end once and for all.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Amen.
You can find more great work from Julie Yeeun Kim on Instagram: @julieyeeun.