Thanksgiving

I DO GIVE THANKS ... For Every Hill. . .

For every hill I've had to climb,
For every stone that bruised my feet,
For all the blood and sweat and grime,
For blinding storms and burning heat
My heart sings but a grateful song --
These were the things that made me strong!

For all the heartaches and the tears,
For all the anguish and the pain,
For gloomy days and fruitless years,
And for the hopes that lived in vain,
I do give thanks, for now I know
These were the things that helped me grow!

'Tis not the softer things of life
Which stimulate man's will to strive;
But bleak adversity and strife
Do most to keep man's will alive,
O'er rose-strewn paths the weaklings creep,
But brave hearts dare to climb the steep.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

We come to give you thanks, Father But how can any words be adequate to
thank you for absolutely everything? All that we are and all that we have
comes from you. Help us to learn the words of praise and thanksgiving every
day, as we strive in gratitude to love you more and more. And help us to
learn and do those things that will lead us and our neighbors to that Great
Thanksgiving Day when all will be fed, and all will understand each other,
and all will have good schools, good jobs, and good health care. Bless this
food and use it to energize us for your work of justice. Amen.