End of the Year prayer

First things first – Dear Coronavirus, on your first anniversary of showing up in China, we want to tell you Good Riddance! We’ve had enough of you. You’ve caused too much heartache. You’ve devastated too many families, you’ve destroyed so many countries, and you’ve left a trail of destruction everywhere. With 85 million cases and almost 2 million deaths, you brought the entire globe to a standstill, with lockdowns, businesses shut down, and hospitals overflowing. You’ve even triggered new strains and other mutations. Now we say to you: GET LOST, once and for all.

Almighty Father, You are so good. You are faithful and gracious and You have blessed us beyond measure. Thank you for everyday blessings to which we have become accustomed, but never want to take for granted: clean drinking water, electricity, food in my pantry, hot showers, a roof over our head, and a bed to sleep in. Thank you for legs that carry me where I need to go and hands that enable me to accomplish many things. As GK Chesterton used to say, ‘we are grateful for our stockings being filled with gifts – let’s thank God that our stockings have legs.’ Thank you for my hearing and my vision and for a sound, healthy mind. Thank you our family, our friends, our jobs, our neighbors. Thank you for freedom to attend our church, for our pastors, and for our many relationships.

Lord God, thank you for life and laughter, for health and happiness, for relationships and memories.

Thank you, too, for the lessons learned and the tears we’ve cried because of Your ability to grow us through them.

Thank You for Your comfort and Your presence, in light of good days and bad.

Thank You for what we have now, for what we had yesterday, and for what You will continue to give tomorrow. Let us never take You for granted, but to always be grateful for every good and perfect gift that comes from You.

Thank you, God for the times You have said "no." They have helped us depend on You so much more.

Thank you, God, for unanswered prayer. It reminds us that You know what's best for us, even when our opinion differs from Yours.

Thank You, Lord, for the things you have withheld from us. You have protected us from what we may never realize.

Thank You, God, for the doors You have closed. They have prevented us from going where You would rather not have us go.

Thank you, Lord, for the physical pain You've allowed in our lives, especially the fear of getting the coronavirus. It has helped us more closely relate to Your sufferings on our behalf.

Thank you, Lord, for the alone times in our life. Those times have forced us to lean in closer to You; and for the uncertainties we've experienced. They have deepened our trust in You.

Thank You, Lord, for the losses we have experienced. They have been a reminder that You are our greatest gain; also for the tears we have shed. They have kept our heart soft and always prepared for the unexpected.

Thank You, God, for those people in my life whom You have called home to be with You. Their absence from this earth keeps my heart longing for heaven.

Thank You, Father, that You know us, You hear us, and You see our tears. And yet You never judge us, but You forgive us and always gives us another chance, another year, which we start tomorrow.

Thank you for my new IPad from my family, for the generous gifts from many of our residents, for 105 mince-pies, 65 oranges, nuts and dried fruit, but please let everyone know that I don't like chocolate!