“Prayer is how we press our hands into the invisible and find the hand of Christ reaching back,” James K. A. I love the imagery in this quote. I was walking Penelope this morning thinking of prayer and thanking God for the beautiful day’s blue sky and the flocks of songbirds in my yard and I felt moved to write a prayer of thanksgiving for today.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for breath this day and thank you for opening my eyes to another beautiful day. Thank you for the three V formations of geese that flew overhead last night into the glorious dusk of the setting sun, their undulating wings and honking reminding me of your love in tending to your creatures, both large and small. Thank you for ears to hear the glorious symphonies of the colorful little songbirds, the “I love yous” from my grandchildren. And thank you for my health and the health of my family and friends.

Thank you, Lord, for eyes to feast on the yellow and purple pansy blooms and the tiny pink and blue wildflowers I see on my walks with Penelope. Thank you for the love from a small faithful dog and a thin stray cat, now piggy fat, who found her way to join our family. Thank you, God, for my porch swings which have become my church pews in the cathedral of my yard. Thank you for the warm sunshine that kisses my cheeks and warms my bare feet as I worship from my swing pew this morning.

Thank you, Lord, for the stately water oaks and majestic magnolias on my street that give the yard critters shelter and homes, send me pirouetting yellow leaves in the fall, fragrant white blooms in the summer. Thank you for the cool breezes, ruffling my hair like a soft touch of your hands, producing wind chime tintinnabulations, creating comical whirlwinds of brown leaves that race down the street waking Penelope now from her nap.

Thank you for the late afternoon lonely wails of the freight train engines reminding me of glorious days gone by from the railroads clicks and clacks near my home in Alexander City, awakening my heart with love and loneliness for my Chief. Thank you for this 125-year-old family home where I live with happy memories of three generations of my family.

And thank you, Lord, for the magnificent watercolor painting of the sunset tonight, for the velvet purple night sky with its twinkling stars and luminous moon. Thank you for my simple pleasures of peanut butter and crackers with a Mason jar of sweet tea.

Thank you, God, for small town life where the sidewalks are walked, the traffic is slow, and life is easily lived. Thank you for my family and friends, thoughtful and loving. Thank you, Lord, for my blogging friends and the words we share as we find our friendships. And thank you for giving me the gift of writing words that can touch someone’s heart.

In God’s name I pray. Amen.

“Prayer should be the key of the day and the lock of the night.”

— George Herbert