Do you remember the story Jesus told about the 10 lepers in the Gospel of Luke? Ten lepers approach him, saying "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" Jesus is moved by their request and tells them to go show themselves (read: have their healing confirmed) to the priests. And so they go - and as they go, they are healed from the disease that not only debilitates their bodies, but presses them to the margins of society. Wow. All they had to do was start on their way in faith - and bingo - they begin healing. Can you imagine the impact this would have had on them?

In fact, one is so overjoyed, he high-tails it back to Jesus, throwing himself humbly at his feet saying, "Thank you! Thank you!" What an act of gratitude! And what does Jesus do? He says, "get up, go on your way. Your faith has saved you." His gratitude has opened a door for healing - not only in body, but in heart and spirit. Maybe Jesus might well have said, "your gratitude has saved you." All ten lepers are healed of their disease, but this one has been "saved." Gratitude can transform your life and your world.

This week when my youngest daughter prayed for the meal, she added, "and teach us always to be grateful." Thirteen years of my gratitude prayers - and now she takes it on. Who says repetition doesn't work? Perhaps it will become one of her centering moments, too.

"I have heard it said that if the only prayer you ever say is "thank you," that is enough."