Image: George Mendoza
Good morning, good God!
This week is a special time
to do something we should do always and everywhere:
give you thanks and praise, Lord!
I offer you thanks, Lord,
for all the people I so often take for granted:
those who serve me in a hundred, quiet ways each day;
those who work for me and with me,
around me and by my side;
those who so often make my life easier,
my work lighter,
my day brighter;
those whose work so often makes my work
more generous, fruitful and helpful...
And I thank you for those who stand ready to protect me,
in the town where I live and at posts far away;
I thank you for those who keep me safe
and those who safeguard my freedom and liberty...
I thank you for those whose work
brings me food from farms,
delight from poetry, song and all the arts;
those whose gifts bring me news from the world,
truth from study and knowledge
from a million different sources...
I thank you for those who deliver heat, light
and clean water to my home;
those who keep my home, my church
and my town the beautiful places they are;
those who bring the mail to my door;
those who deliver all the comforts I take for granted...
I thank you for all the people
who fill my mornings, days and evenings
with their smiles, their friendship, their love,
their company and conversation...
I offer you thanks for the beauty of the world around me:
the light of sun and moon and stars;
the pull of ocean tides, the depths of lakes,
the flow of streams, the ripples on ponds;
the colors of nature, birds on the wing,
flowers in the fields -- and all of Cape Cod...
I thank you for my faith, my trust, my hope in you;
I thank you for my ministry and the people I serve;
I thank you for the message of the gospel I preach
and the history of salvation
we inherit from your chosen people...
I thank you for the beauty of worship,
the depths of your Word,
the lyrics of the psalms,
the grace of the sacraments
and the life that is ours
through faith in you...
Make me truly and more deeply grateful, Lord,
for all you have given me and for gifts
I've yet to find, to open, to discover...
I thank you, Lord,
for all things bright and beautiful
and for all things bruised and broken:
let me find in everything
and in everyone around me
a trace of your presence,
the fingerprint of your grace,
the signature of your artistry...
I thank you, Lord, for the gift
of all who have gone before me,
marked with the sign of faith:
bring them and all the departed
into the light of your presence...
I thank you for all those
whose paths will cross mine this week:
help me to walk in peace with them
and to lift up those who may need help
along the way...
Help me, Lord,
always and everywhere
to praise and thank you
for every good gift
that comes from your hand...
Amen.
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