Giving Thanks

 You have probably heard a variety of prayers before meals in your lifetime: ‘Two four six eight, dig in don’t wait!’ and ‘Grace!’ among them. I always give thanks, but sometimes it is a silent action. I don‘t need to make a spectacle of myself.

An acquaintance of mine, Iain Radvan, recently wrote, “Giving thanks before a meal can be one of the simplest and most heart-felt of prayers that an individual or group can say. It is not always spoken aloud – I believe that an unspoken ‘yummy’ or the appreciative sniff of an aroma is giving thanks to God and to the cook. Grace before meals can be extended to voicing thanks for other blessings that have come a person’s way during the day.”

“When I say ‘thank you’ before I eat, I am mindful not only of the cook, but, all in a second, of the Earth that provided the seed and soil, of the farmers who nurtured the plants, of the life and death of the animals, of the drivers who distributed the food and the shopkeepers who sold it. This meal and this prayer connects me to the whole Earth community. I feel humbled and truly grateful.”
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So, that simple prayer might contain a wealth of ‘thanksgivings’, all offered in the blinking of an eye. Thank you Lord.