And Ever Thanks

Every good gift comes from your hand, Lord!

Help me to count my blessings this day
and to be grateful to you from whom they flow...

I thank you for the blessing of family and friends,
those with me still and those gone home to you...

I thank you for my eyes and ears,
for finding the beauty of your presence all around me...

I thank you for nature's seasons and all I learn
in their coming and going, year in and year out...

I thank you for the blessing of a sunrise
and the blessing of the same sun's setting...

I thank you for the company of others
and good times shared with them...

I thank you for silence, for solitude
and for times of peace and quiet with you...

I thank you for your mercy and forgiveness,
for your pardon of my faults and sins...

I thank you for correction that helps me grow
and for reprimands that keep me honest...

I thank you for the healing grace of forgiving others
and of others forgiving me...

I thank you for anticipation's joy
and for disappointment's healing...

I thank you for a good night's sleep
and the blessing of sweet dreams...

I thank you for the gift of each new day,
one day at a time...

I thank you for steady work, for satisfying work,
for work that serves the needs of others...

I thank you for the gift of those who help me
and for the opportunity to be of help to others...

I thank you for the works of grace and faith
that shape us as your people...

I thank you for a child's birth,
the promise new life brings...

I thank you for the gift a peaceful death can be
for those who've lost a loved one...

I thank you for the life that's mine
and your promise of a life that never ends...

I thank you for the ordinary, the routine
the unexpected, the surprise...
I thank you for cleansing tears
and for healing laughter...

I thank you for my faith when I'm confused;
for the gift of hope when trust's in short supply;
for the blessing of your love when I'm alone...
In the quiet of my prayer, Lord,
help me count my blessings before I list my problems,
before I whine and whimper,
before I turn to pity for myself...

Every good gift comes from your hand, Lord,
and you're more generous than I'm sometimes willing to notice,
to see, to acknowledge, to remember
and to hold in my heart as gift and grace...

In the quiet of my prayer, Lord,
show me the peace, the grace, the healing
of your blessings in my life:
the ones I often miss, the ones that I've forgotten,
and the blessings will come my way today...

Amen.

(graphic and prayer from A Concord Pastor Comments)