Giving Thanks

It was Thanksgiving Day and quite the spread stood before us.  There were sweet potatoes and salad, turkey and corn, yeast rolls and two different kinds of jelly. Around the table, four hungry children sat eyeing it all like ravenous wolves.

"Let's pray," I said and launched into a pre-Thanksgiving meal prayer.

About halfway through my prayer, a little voice came from the high chair to my right, "Amen?" it said in a plaintive tone.  Victoria, at least, was sure that I was getting long winded and she was ready to eat.

I know that there are many people who do not bow their heads and pray before meals, but I always do. 

When I was a boy, I heard people say that they were "blessing the food" and I believed that the longer the prayer, the more the food needed blessing.  I have had a few meals which a ten minute prayer would scarcely have been long enough to carry me through them.

But I don't pray before I eat to protect myself from intestinal parasites, or even a case of indigestion.

I am not asking for a blessing on myself or the people around me, not even a blessing on the hands of those who prepared the meal, rather I am giving thanks for a meal that I don't really deserve.

It is easy for me to fall into the trap of thinking that because I work hard, that I have earned the food that is set before me and the other blessings that may come my way through the day.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.

My family and I have been blessed by God and there are many in this world who have much less than we do.  I don't know why God has blessed us so richly, but the least I can do is to bow my head and three times a day say "Thank You," to the One who never stops giving.

Whether I am sitting down to a three course meal or a liverwurst sandwich, I would pray.

Truly, the beginning of a grateful heart is simply remembering to say "Thank You."