Saying Grace – 40 Days of Thankfulness

I am thankful for having enough to eat. Most everyone I know can have whatever they want whenever they want and their only hindrance is empty calories.

Reading one of Paul’s journals, I found an article about Food and Ethics. This heading covers a variety of topics from how food is grown and cultivated to how much fake stuff is put into food. It also covered the topic of thankfulness and food. Even atheists can agree that we must be thankful for the food we have. But how often are we truly thankful?

My brother and I used to race through grace at dinnertime and see who could say it the fastest. I never paid attention to the prayer filled with “thees” and “thys”. It wasn’t until a few years back that I took the quiet time to thank God and the earth for my sustenance.

Now, I’ve expanded that prayer as it comes to me before meals and I make sure to spend at least 60 seconds in gratitude. Previous to Paul getting this job, I would pray silently in public so that the prayer stayed in the depth of my heart and only God could hear. Now, it’s expected of us to join hands and say it out loud which is pretty normal here.

Here is s simple prayer Paul and I say with our meals:

Thank you Gracious God for this wonderful meal. With your love may it fill out bodies as well as our hearts and souls to sustain others. We thank you for the hands that prepared it and the earth from which it came. May we be rightful stewards. Amen.