As we pause to consider our blessings at this time of year, we are reminded of a prayer we heard some years ago.

The years have dimmed our memory of the exact wording of the prayer to the point that the author may no longer wish to claim ownership. But it greatly impacted us at the time, and we wish to share it with you now. We will do our best to be faithful to the original meaning.

Given the current bent of the federal courts, we are grateful that the First Amendment still affords at least some protection for the free expression of such sentiments.

It goes like this:

We thank you for the sunshine, Lord, and we thank you for the rain, because we’ve got to have a little rain in our lives to appreciate the sunshine.

We thank you, Lord, for our down-sitting and our up-rising.

We thank you for our enemies, Lord, because our enemies keep us on our toes.

We thank you for letting us be your children, Lord. And we ask that you forgive us, Father, for our sins, because the things you told us to do we’ve left undone. And the things you told us not to do, those are the things we find ourselves doing.

And finally, help us to be a little more forgiving of the faults we find in others, Lord, just as you have forgiven the faults You found in us. The path is long and we’re all going to need a helping hand along the way.

May you and your family enjoy a blessed Thanksgiving.