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beauty in creation, bless the Lord, Book of Daniel, creation, Creator, prayers of gratitude, Thanksgiving, The Sophia Center for Spirituality
Today as we in the United States approach Thanksgiving Day, we are reminded by a section from the Book of Daniel to take note of the natural world in our prayers of gratitude. Even when all the flowers (at least here in the Northeast) are gone and the trees have shed all their leaves, even when frost replaces the loveliness of green grass (and the task of mowing!), even when the bears and some of the littler creatures have gone into hibernation, there is yet a beauty in creation. I find it most visible in the shapes of various trees, their branches not hidden now by leafy dressing, in the clarity of stars on cold nights of deepest darkness and in the patterns and sparkle of frost on sunny mornings. So now I call on the creation, as Daniel did, to “give glory and eternal praise” to the Creator of all:
Sun and moon, bless the Lord; stars of heaven, bless the Lord; every shower and dew, bless the Lord; all you winds, bless the Lord; fire and heat, bless the Lord; cold and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him above all forever! (DAN 3:62-67)
The Sophia Center for Spirituality 