Prayer of Thanksgiving

By Ivan2010 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47661712

Let me not waste the days You’ve given me.
The mornings I might sleep away, the nights
When all my fears are all that I can see,
Trapped in the glow of flickering blue lights.
Revive me. Let me taste that You are good
In fruit arranged to catch the slanting sun,
In green glass shadows spilling over wood,
In snow aflame with gold when day is done.
My flesh is weak, but let my heart be strong.
Let me receive the feast Your grace has founded
With thankfulness. Now let me sing a song
Of gladness, though my sadness is unbounded.
Let me believe that this, my grateful prayer
Is not in vain. Lord, let me not despair.

Bethel McGrew is a Michigan-based freelance journalist, essayist, and occasional poet.