May 5th: National Prayer Day

He listens equally to the prayers of the believer and the unbeliever.
~ Henry David Thoreau ~

Today is National Prayer Day.  President Harry S. Truman signed a bill for this in 1952.  Each President after him choose the date that it would be celebrated each year.  In 1988, President Ronald Reagan made the official date as the first Thursday of May.  It was created as a day for the American people to take a moment and reflect on the goodness that surrounds each of us.  We live in a country that let's us choose to worship how we will, and for that I am grateful.  There is so much to be thankful for each day.  Gratitude is one of the most powerful emotions we can experience.  It can truly draw more good things into our life as we begin to appreciate the many gifts that we have already been given.  Take a moment today to look around you.  How many small things surround you that you might be taking for granted?  Pick the first item you see and remind yourself why you are grateful for it.  What would be missing in your life each day without that one item?  The first thing I noticed today is a framed picture of my wonderful husband and I on the night he met my family for the first time.  Each time I look at it, I am reminded how blessed I am to have found such a loving, loyal, devoted man to share each day with.  The smile on my face says it all!  Without that frame to hold the picture, it wouldn't be displayed for me to see each day.  Such a small thing....yet, so significant.  That frame keeps a memory alive in the forefront of my mind.  Without it, one of my favorite mementos would be buried in a box....somewhere in the dark corner of a closet.  Instead, it's out in the open, able to bring feelings of deep gratitude to the surface each time I see it.  Challenge yourself today.  What have you been taking for granted? Begin to feel gratitude for everything that's come into your life, for a specific reason....no matter how large or small it may be.  Once you've rediscovered all of the blessings that really do surround you each day, take a moment and give thanks.....pray, meditate, whatever feels right to you.  Can you imagine the peace, love and pure joy that would surround all of us if EVERYONE in our country did that today....even for a minute?  Let it begin with you....there's so much to be grateful for.