"Then God said, 'Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.' And that is what happened."

Genesis 1:11

In the Thanksgiving Eve services at Irvine Presbyterian Church, we had an open mic time when people in the congregation could publicly express their gratitude. We heard much of what you would expect: thanks for family, for friends, for freedom, and so on.

One evening my daughter, who was about six at the time, took the microphone and said, "I thank God for trees." Everybody laughed, which hurt my daughter's feelings because she was quite serious about her gratitude. I thought to myself: I love trees. And I don't know if I've ever thanked God for trees before. So I did, right then and there.

Are there things in this world that you appreciate, but for which you've never thanked the Lord? What about trees?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, this passage reminds me to thank you, once again, for trees. Thank you for their subtle beauty, for their multiple tones of green. Thank you for their varied shapes and sizes. Thank you for the sound of leaves swishing in the wind, and for their striking colors in fall. Thank you, dear Lord, for the coolness of sitting beneath a tree on a hot, sunny day. For the delightful goodness of your creation, I thank you, and today, even for trees. Amen.