Do you make your bed everyday?

About 5 years ago there was a commencement address given by Admiral William H. McRaven where he gives really fabulous advice to the graduates based on his training as a Navy SEAL. Though he has many really good points, there is one that I regularly go back to about making your bed. Like many military branches, their beds would be inspected daily. This mundane task was part of the necessary routine, but over time Admiral McRaven shared how this simple task provided so much wisdom. In his speech he says,

"If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can't do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.

And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made — that you made — and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better."

How often are we faithful to the seemingly simple prayers such as the "Our Father" or "Hail Mary" or prayer before meals? I think of these prayers as the "making your bed" prayers every morning - they are brief, simple, and concrete. However, I'll be first to admit that sometimes saying these prayers can feel too simple and not as exciting as a sung Divine Mercy Chaplet or participating in a praise and worship session, but they are the building blocks to more prayer and some of the deeper prayers we have in our faith. 

Truth be told too, there are times on our spiritual journeys that I feel that praying can be rough. Maybe we are facing a crisis or there are distractions in our way - going back to these "making the bed" prayers can be an easy way to get back to God. Maybe the chaos or struggle continues for awhile, but at the end of the day you can still know you turned to God despite it all and there is small joy in all of that. 

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Father God, 

Thank you for giving us these simple, yet profound prayers to pray daily. Allow me the graces to pray these prayers faithfully each day to be able to do even more praying and praising. When I'm in a spiritual drought or challenging circumstance, help me remember I can go back to these prayers anytime and find you there. All this in your name,

Amen.

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Simply a little pencil in God's hand, 

Elizabeth