And Still 100 More Thanks

Lord God, Abba,
thank you for creating us male and female,
thank you for ocelots,
and pandas,
and hummingbirds,
and otters,
and puppies,
and blowfish,
and chameleons,
and daddy long legs,
and chipmunks,
and all the wonders of your amazing animal creation.
Thank you for my reasonably healthy teeth,
for my reasonably sharp mind,
for my reasonably good eyesight,
and my reasonably good education.
Thank you for freckles,
thank you for fingernails and toenails,
thank you for eyebrows and eyelashes.
Thank you that I didn’t get everything I wanted growing up.
Thank you that I don’t have everything I could want now.
Thank you that my parents gave me such a good example,
of being faithful to a church,
of giving to others,
of helping others,
of working hard,
of living simply,
and laughing often.
Thank you for foster parents,
and for people who adopt children.
Thank you for people who sponsor children.
Thank you for Juan Miguel, our sponsored child in Peru.
Thank you for air travel,
for the interstate highway system,
for speedometers,
for gasoline,
for gas stations,
for oil companies,
for medical technology,
for pharmaceutical companies,
and pharmacists,
for photography and cameras and pictures.
Thank you that my wife is such a great mom,
that Aaron and Nina are such great parents,
that Aubrey and Kevin are such a loving aunt and uncle to Miles and Mia.
Thank you for meatloaf.
Thank you that I have a wife I can trust,
a mechanic I can trust,
a plumber I can trust,
and friends who own pickups.
Thank you that I’ve never been on America’s Most Wanted or Maury.
Thank you that I’ve never spent a moment in jail,
thank you that my children never ran away,
thank you that my home has never burnt down.
Thank you for my earliest pastors and mentors,
from Mr. and Mrs. Reed
to Major and Mrs. Weyant
and Major and Mrs. Schramm,
and Major and Mrs. Bender,
and George Krider,
and Norm Murdoch,
to Captain and Mrs. Wright, who became my in-laws.
Thank you that I was a virgin when I married,
and that my wife was, too.
Thank you for summers at Camp Swoneky in the 70s,
and for the mischief they saved me from.
Thank you for horses.
Thank you for the Smoky Mountains.
Thank you for checks that come in the mail,
thank you for direct deposit,
thank you for free checking,
and thank you for compound interest.
Thank you for our washer
and dryer.
Thank you for our sump pump.
Thank you for our shower.
Thank you that honesty still exists in this world,
and decency,
and faith.
Thank you for fireworks in July
and pumpkin pie in the Fall
and carols in December.
Thank you for place names like Kinnikinnick
and Hoboken
and Rabbit Hash.
Thank you for the privilege that is mine of marrying people,
and praying with people,
and teaching people,
and counseling people.
Thank you for the times I could have been falsely accused, and wasn’t.
Thank you for the times I could have been rightly accused, and wasn’t.
Thank you for the many things I don’t have to own to enjoy.
Thank you for the kindnesses I have enjoyed over the years,
from the cabin of my friends Jim and Annie,
to the loan of a book from Brad.
Thank you that I’ve never had to fire a gun.
Thank you that I’ve never punched anyone.
Thank you that I’ve never been drunk or high.
Thank you that I can’t recall a moment of not knowing you,
of not being confident that you exist,
and that you love me.
Amen.