A Concord Pastor Comments: Monday Morning Offering: 8/17

Coffee in the Morning

Good morning, good God!

I come this morning, Lord,
with an offering of thanks and praise
for all the gifts you've given me:
gifts I so often and too easily
take for granted...

So many good people in my life, Lord:
folks I live with, work with, talk to, serve,
pray with, meet with, email, text and call -
people who are there for me
even when we're out of touch,
and who care about me, always,
without fail...

But sometimes I forget them, Lord:
I take their friendship and their loyalty for granted,
forgetting how I treasure them, their love
and all the blessings that they bring
into my life...

For all these wonderful people, Lord,
I give you thanks and praise
and pray you make me more attentive
to their gracious presence and their gifts...

And then there's sutff, Lord!

Oh, the list of things I want is very long
and my envy of what others have
can sour me and blind me
to how much I have already,
how my needs are truly few...

When I take for granted all I have,
when I forget to count my blessings,
then I fail to see how my best gifts
are so much more important and more valuable,
than the toys and gadgets, large and small,
my heart's so set on having...

I give you thanks and praise, Lord,
for all I have, for what's right in my lap
in my heart and in my arms
- already...

Let me never fail to see
that I have more than I imagine
and often, more, much more
than what I think I need...

I have so much
for which I owe you thanks and praise...

I have my faith in you
and in the mercy that you offer
when I need your healing touch...

I have hope, Lord,
that on the darkest days
you're there for me
and will not leave my side...

And I have love, Lord:
your love for me that never ends;
love to share with others;
and the love that others offer me
from their hearts to my own...

Help me share with others, Lord,
all you have shared with me...

In the week ahead, help me not take for granted
all the people, gifts and blessings that are mine,
given me from your most generous hand...

When jealousy and anger blind me, open wide my eyes
to see the simple gifts, the old gifts,
the lasting gifts, the saving gifts, the greatest gifts I have
and grant me then a grateful heart to treasure them
and thank you - and my friends -
from whom such blessings come...

Open my heart to the poor, Lord,
and any around me
whose needs I might tend and serve and fill:
make me generous in sharing with others
what you've so generously shared with me...

Let me take not even one day for granted,
not one hour, not one person,
not a single gift or blessing...

Make me grateful, Lord,
for all that's mine...

Thanks and praise for all I have:
that's my offering for this morning, for this day
and for the week that lies ahead...

Amen.