A blessing for the end of a family business partnership
Psalm 34:17-18
Ending a family business partnership may not seem like a situation that qualifies for a blessing. Feelings of disappointment, guilt that you are letting down prior (or future) generations, or a nagging sense of failure, can inhibit even the most necessary of endings. Yet anyone who has felt stuck or trapped in a business partnership — a union either not of their choosing, or with people with whom they no longer wish to conduct business — feels a sense of relief at the end.
This blessing recognizes that there is a season to every business partnership, that sometimes it is best to let go and move on. In every dissolution there is an inauguration, when considering the long arc of multiple generations and their business endeavors.
There comes a time in every family enterprise When what brought us together no longer binds When our visions and goals no longer align And we know, down deep, this chapter must end. Feelings of anger, guilt, and sadness suffuse What was built over generations must now be taken down The tools required to dismantle feel utterly foreign in our hands And the time, energy, and emotion it takes push us repeatedly to the brink. But once you see the end in your sights The future unfurls in previously unimaginable ways Offering new space to dream, to plan, to move forward The next story in your family begins to take shape. Yes, you’ve come to inherently know This deliberate division of our business is the right move The act of termination may even repair, a little, Some of the relationships we damaged along the way. As you wind up your current family business partnership, may God grant you Vision, for the next phase in your family and business life. Patience, as disentangling always takes longer than expected. Discernment, to choose advisors who offer wisdom and understanding. Forgiveness, for family members who hurt you throughout the process, and Healing, for family relationships injured over the years.
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:17-18)
Prior blessings: For grandparents in the family business, for those experiencing family estrangement, for your estate planning efforts, for a family business gathering, upon the passing of a family business member, for rest, for the next generation’s return, for the senior generation letting go, and for the new year.