A Prayer of Thanskgiving - Poem by Raymond A. Foss

Dear God,

I give you thanks for this day,
for the days of my life so far
and all the future days you will give me;

For You, your love for me,
for your consistent holding of covenant
with me, throughout my life;

For the word you gave your people,
your prophets, your Son, the apostles
words that live in us still, in the good news
the covenant keeping by You, “I am”;

For the words in the word,
written with a message for me, today
and each day I open the pages, seeing
in the words meaning for my life
for the struggles I face,
the challenges I have;

For the words of faith shared in devotionals,
from the pulpit, in the sanctuary,
in prayer, in song, that color our lives,
enrich our journey of faith, sharing with
other earlier saints, a bit of your grace;

For the sacrifice, the example, the gift
of your Son, who came to earth,
lived among us, gave us words
to guide, to let your Spirit infuse
the law, the rules, the loving way,
the spirit, not the letter of the law alone,
to live life as your servant, as your disciple;

For my wife, my children, my family
who love me, really love me
who see the good in me, the gifts you have
heaped on me beyond my understanding,
who brighten my day, each day,
with shared words of love, kind acts,
subtle ways they share their love with me;

For the gift of intelligence, the gift of passion,
for the gift of advocacy, the law,
where I can defend, uplift, protect,
fight for what is best,
heal lives, make a difference;

For the gift of photography, for seeing the world as
through a lens, noting the subtle, the oft-overlooked
small miracle, hidden but visible if we look;

For the gift of poetry, for being your amaneusis,
your transcriber of the words you put in my head,
into the cells of my fingers writing;

For the gift of others in my path, for my church family
for clients, and others, who touch my life, who teach me
nurture me, support me, believe in me;

For you again Lord for all I just wrote and
for the millions of other ways
You have touched, guided,
influenced my life so far
and for the certainty of my salvation,
through the gift of your Son,
Jesus Christ, my brother and my Savior.

Amen

November 22, 2006 12:50