Dear God,
We are want to express our gratitude for all your blessings. You have given us so much, not only providing what we need to live an abundant life but in giving us an indescribable gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ. This Thanksgiving day is filled with a mix of emotions.

We confess our thanks, but also acknowledge sadness because of the empty seats at our table. We know that death and sorrow were not your original plan, but the result of sin in the world. These moments of sorry draw us closer to you and each other.

Loving Father fill the empty places in our hearts and this empty place at our table with Your everlasting love. Teach us to savor the moments we have with one another, to remember what we have lost, but also to look forward to the great union in heaven.

In Jesus, we pray.