Dear God, Are You Online?

Every year, at around this time in December, being overwhelmed by the exaggerated commercialistic nature of Christmas (and now, of all other seasonal holidays), I desperately look for more meaning. In my everyday, in the season, in Christmas, in religion(s), in rituals… all of it.

Things, like this beautiful website, help me reconnect. It’s very simply called “Dear God”. In vibrant colors, personal prayers are each depicted by evocative, striking photographs. This is a non-denominational god, one that crosses boundaries of every kind thanks to the Internet.

The real beauty of this website is that we can see, in each other’s prayers, that we are not alone in our thoughts, pain, fears, hopes and dreams. And that this “god” just …listens. It’s the voyeuristic god within each of us, through our posted comments, that can help support, reassure, console or participate in the joy and gratitude of the prayer’s writer.

As is mentioned on the Dear God site: “It doesn’t matter what your version of God is…Jesus, Allah, Buddha or simply a spiritual universal energy… praying to a higher power soothes and heals. It is believed that people who pray are healthier, happier and more resilient.”

And that is meaningful enough to get me through the season!