darkness

God, you created this cold and dark time of waiting,
where the sun is far away and our part of the world sleeps.
Thank you for trees whose structural beauty is revealed in nakedness,
and for evergreens, giving us pleasure in this gray season.
Thank you for snow, blanketing the earth in white.
Thank you for all the animals, snug in their winter beds,
and for birds which are travelling from Canada to tropical places.
Thank you for the harvest whose stored bounty we still enjoy;
root vegetables, apples, and even last spring’s harvest of maple syrup.
Thank you for the dark of night, and all the stars of heaven.
Thank you for the sound of the wind.