A Prayer of Gratitude for 2014:

For each breath, for each heartbeat, for each moment of life in the year behind us, we thank you, living God.
For the precious gift of friends and family, for the blessing of colleagues and neighbors, for passersby and strangers with whom we shared even a brief moment of life this year, we thank you, living God.
For our friends and family members whose days among us ended this year, for each memory of times shared with them, for the blessing of their presence and the legacy they leave with us, we thank you, living God.
For the opportunities for growth that came to us this year disguised as struggles and difficulties, for failures that humbled us and for successes that encouraged us, for grace that picked us up each time we fell down, we thank you, living God.
For each meal we enjoyed this year, for each day’s nourishment and flavor, for the soil and sunlight, for the air and rainfall upon which we all depend, for all to whom our food connects us, from field to farm, and store to table, we thank you, living God.
For the rest of each night and the new hope of each sunrise, for homes where we have enjoyed rest and safety, and for work that has filled each day with challenge and opportunity, we thank you, living God.
For peace, health, and safety which we often take for granted, for all the dimensions of our daily lives that go so well we hardly notice them, we thank you, living God.
As we look back upon this year with gratitude, may our thirst for peace be strengthened, and our hunger for justice deepened, so that in the year ahead, we will, empowered by your Spirit, work in love to build a world where all can enjoy the blessings we now share, we ask you, living God.
May the giver of all good gifts fill us not only with joy and celebration, but also with deep gratitude and a sense of the precious wonder of the gift of life. We thank you, living God.
(adapted from WMTRBW)