FOREST BLESSINGS

A debut anthology of blessings for personal Christian study, introspection, and worship.

Griffin, minister of North Carolina’s Wake Forest Christian Church, originally wrote most entries in this compilation in 2018 as benedictions. In the introduction, he explains his concept of what a blessing is and what it is not. It’s not an affirmation, he says, but rather a work that speaks to one’s truest self. He likens blessings to yeast, noting that just as yeast allows bread to rise when heated, people may grow when blessings are enfolded within them. He encourages readers to keep journals and offers four key questions to prompt critical and spiritual thinking. Throughout, he cites examples of blessings from the Bible and from his own life; specifically, he speaks of receiving a blessing at the completion of his studies that stuck with him and how he created this anthology in the hope that readers will have similar experiences. Many entries sound like the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount, as they open with the words “blessed are….” The first blessing, for instance, begins with “Blessed are you who are beginning— / always beginning, / always beginning / within yourself.” In other parts, readers will recognize more modern turns of phrase, such as “It is crazy to believe in love. / God is love. / Blessed are the crazy.” However, although Griffin always specifies whom he’s blessing in these works, he doesn’t always make clear what they’re blessed with. Also, although all of the blessings are organized into sections based on the liturgical calendar, it must be noted that not every blessing is directly related to the section in which it’s placed. They are lyrical, however, containing imagery and symbols, and they center on universal themes of hope, love, and self. However, when read in a series, the blessings start to feel repetitive, so perhaps it’s best to only digest one per week, as the author suggests.

A poetic expression of God’s gifts from a Christian ministry.