Thanksgiving Day Prayer
by Linda A. Copp

However do I thank YOU, Lord
for all You've given me.
Firstly, for this country that I live in
which allows me to be free.
And gives me the right to worship YOU,
 however, I think best!
And to follow any pathway I may choose 
however, ill conceived, or circuitous!
I may choose it and then forsake it, 
my right to do so, nonetheless.
And if I stumble in my choices,
however many they may be.
I may rise and turn around again, 
change my mind and my direction then 
 and with them my destiny.

Yes, Lord how do I thank You
 for all You have given me?
My hope, my belief, my dreams, my faith 
which inspires and enables me
to make a difference in this world.

And all because of YOU!

What you have given and have done,
Your life, your crucifixion
and then your resurrection too!

OH! Lord thank YOU, 
thank You for this life, 
You have granted me
and at its conclusion,
my salvation yet to be.

My God, my Lord, I thank you for 
every blessed day,
even those, which tried my soul
for they brought me closer to YOU,
And they taught me to depend on YOU.
And then to be ever grateful too
 for the sunshine that would follow rain,
the light that followed dark and pain
and the rainbow that is called my life.
Yes, My Lord I thank You for 
this blessed gift, my immortal soul, 
and yet, my very mortal life.

 
But, most of all and on this day
Lord, I bow my head in prayer and pray:

"Oh! My Lord, please accept 
my heartfelt thanks 
for all these many blessings 
and then most especially,
for these beloved friends and family 
who have gathered here with me."

by Linda A. Copp
November 18, 2000