Tomorrow is the first Thursday in May. Wow, I can’t believe it is May already. The first Thursday in May is the National Day of Prayer.  The NDP website offers the following history lesson: “Days of prayer have been called for since 1775, when the Continental Congress designated a time for prayer in forming a new nation. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln called for such a day. Officially, the NDP was established as an annual event by an act of Congress in 1952 and was signed into law by President Truman. President Reagan amended the law in 1988, designating the first Thursday of May each year as the NDP.”

I believe in prayer and I am grateful that I live in a nation where I have freedom of religion. I realize that if I lived in some other countries on our wonderful planet I would not have freedom of religion. I also realize that there are people who do not share my views on life and religion in particular. And I am good with that.  The world is a big place and we are all different.  As I always say to the kids “It would be so boring if we were all alike.”  I love the diversity of the United States but I will say that I don’t like the term “tolerance”.  I think “respect” is a better word.  I get the concept of tolerance but wouldn’t respect be better.  I don’t have to agree with your lifestyle or beliefs to respect you as a fellow member of the human race. Can’t we respectfully agree to disagree. See the bottom line is you haven’t walked in my shoes and I haven’t walked in your shoes. But I can almost guarantee that there is something you can teach me about life that I wouldn’t have known if I didn’t know you and visa versa.  We don’t have to see “eye to eye” to walk “hand in hand” or live “side by side”.

So I will be praying for our great nation tomorrow, our leaders and the children and teens who are our future leaders. My local church will be open all day tomorrow for people to stop by and pray. I bet some synagogues and mosque will be open too. And actually you can pray anywhere so if you believe in prayer, please take a moment tomorrow to pray for our leaders, our military and our future. It can’t hurt 🙂

One last thought for my brothers and sisters in Christ as John Wesley stated: “On the essentials, unity; on the non-essentials, liberty; and in all things charity(love).” Amen!