I’ve been thinking about that simple prayer of thanks I recited as a child. There’s something about it — it’s concise and unpretentious, yet honest and profound.

The author of this small blessing was Edith Rutter-Leatham and she lived in Durham, England. She published a small volume of poetry in 1913. That’s it. I scoured the internet for information and came up empty. She doesn’t have a Wikipedia page and her book can’t be found on Amazon. Edith was an obscure poet in Victorian England who is remembered for a simple four-line children’s table blessing. Not a bad legacy considering that a little girl in southwest Wisconsin in the 1960s put it to memory, and the now-grown woman is still thinking about it in 2021.

Let’s break it down.

Thank You for the world so sweet.

I know what you’re thinking. “Sweet? This world is sweet? Maybe back in 1913, but not in 2021!” I beg to differ. The sinking of the Titanic had recently shocked the world and World War I was about to break out. There is always turmoil somewhere on the planet. There is always beauty, too. God made us a sweet world, if we would only pay attention. Thank Him for the world, and you’ll begin to see more of its sweetness.

Thank You for the food we eat.

I am so thankful food tastes good. It wouldn’t have to, you know. God could have made nourishing mush with no taste to keep our bodies healthy. Instead, He created tomatoes and yeast and grains of wheat. He gave people the ingenuity to invent pizza. Glory halleluia! Thank Him for the food you eat, and you’ll begin to taste more of its goodness.

Thank You for the birds that sing.

What if birds didn’t sing? What would it be like to go for a morning walk and hear no birdsong? Even in town, the air is filled with chirps and tweets that we often ignore. God created a soundtrack that plays all day, every day. Birds that sing, cats that meow, cows that moo. Thank Him for the birds that sing, and you’ll begin to hear more of their melodies.

Thank You God for everything.

It’s good to have a broad-sweep statement like this. I wouldn’t be able to get through the day if I stopped to thank Him for everything. “Thank You Lord, for sleeping. Thank You for waking. Thank You for my pillow, for my bed, for my blankets. Thank you for toothpaste and bodily functions and the smell of coffee.” It would be a non-stop full-time job. Thank Him for everything and you’ll begin to live a life full of gratitude.

“The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” Psalm 24:1
“Always give thanks to God the Father for everything.” Ephesians 5:20

A funny thing happened after I wrote the last post.

I was soundly reprimanded in my heart for slighting the little table prayer I recited as a child. I called it “sing-songy” and a “ditty” and “elementary”. Shame on me. I was urged to take another look at the seemingly simple poem. God impressed on me that if I want to learn how to offer thanks, this is a very good place to start. After all, “Out of the mouths of babes You have ordained strength.” (Ps. 8:2)

I watch my son with his three year old daughter.
Over and over and over he reminds her to say “please” and “thank you”.

Over and over and over.

“Dada, I want milk.”
“What do you say?”
“Please, Dada.”
He gives her a cup of milk.
“What do you say?”
“Thank you, Dada.”

Over and over and over.

Then one day, without prompting,
she looks up at him with those big baby blues and says,
“Thank you, Dada.”

And his heart just melts.
It makes his day.

My granddaughter reminds me what a simple heartfelt expression of thanks means to my Father. It doesn’t have to be fancy, or wordy, or theologically profound. There doesn’t have to be an encyclopedic list. And when it comes to “sing-songy” — well, God rather enjoys that.

Sing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:16