I was looking through a book of prayers this week written for all kinds of occasions. The collection is called "Every moment holy" and the author is making the key point that even the most ordinary parts of the day can be sacred. So, by way of example, the book contains a prayer called "a liturgy for laundering" :) Every moment is holy.
The other important gift we receive when using prayers composed by others is that we pray prayers we wouldn't otherwise have prayed (like the prayer while doing the washing!). This is why many churches adopt a predictable order of worship on Sundays - it is important that we regularly pray prayers of praise, thanksgiving, confession, intercession. Praying in these ways shapes the kind of people we become.
This morning, after what has felt like a hard week, I have been drawn to thanksgiving. It is tempting to get into the habit of naming what is hard and painful in our lives (and there is a place for that), but what happens when we choose instead to count our blessings and give thanks? Or as someone has put it, we choose to look at the doughnut and not the hole :) As the Roman statesman and philosopher, Cicero wrote, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of the virtues, but the parent of all the others.” What are you grateful for today?