We Plow the Fields and Scatter (ELW 681, Verses 2-3)
Refrain:
All good gifts around us
are sent from heav’n above.
We thank you Lord, we thank you,
Lord, for all your love.
2 You only are the maker
of all things near and far.
You paint the wayside flower,
you light the evening star.
The wind and waves obey you,
by you the birds are fed;
much more to us, your children,
you give our daily bread. [Refrain]
3 We thank you, our creator,
for all things bright and good,
the seed-time and the harvest,
our life, our health, our food.
No gifts have we to offer
for all your love imparts,
but what you most would treasure–
our humble, thankful hearts. [Refrain]
Devotion
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, spring came much earlier than it does on the North Dakota prairie. Even so, there is something about watching the new growth as the earth wakes up each year. As the days grow longer and the new growth is all around us, it’s hard to miss the beauty of that we see in nature. Our hymn this day reminds us that the flowers we see on the roadside and the stars that light the nighttime sky are fashioned by God’s almighty hand. And it reminds us too that everything we have—seedtime and harvest, life and health and food—comes from our creator, not from our hands. As we enjoy these flowers, the longer days, the warmth that surrounds us, the crops that we watch grow, may we offer up our thanks this day to the one who made them so.
Prayer
On this day we join anew, with this hymn of old, in giving thanks to God for all that we have: “All good gifts around us, are sent from heaven above. We thank you, Lord, we thank you, Lord, for all your love.” Amen.