I look around when I'm in a department store or while I'm buying groceries, sometimes even when I'm stuck in traffic. What do I see? A mixture of people, diverse personalities, all with individual cares and concerns, hopes and desires, experiences and emotions. And I marvel that mankind has made it this far. I don't mean to be negative, but there's a lot going on in this world.

God, I wish we could all get along. I wish we could just mind our own business and stay out of other people's stuff. There's so much to accomplish, but we are not making much progress.

Every few minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer. Maybe that woman is a single mother responsible for three children. What will happen to her? Why haven't we found a cure for this monster?

Heart disease takes the life out of men and women in more numbers each day. You have given us brilliant minds to work toward ending the suffering and helping each other through the pain.

Instead of putting all of our ideas together for the common good, we make war on each other, we exact vengeance for perceived wrongs. We expect to receive forgiveness from You, even when we are unable to give it to those who do us ill. God, we both know this is twisted thinking.

Help us, please ... all of us in the world — to stop hating each other long enough to realize that we are our own worst enemy. Help us to remember the kind words of those sent to us through the ages to guide us: those good people who tried so hard to show us how to love.

We know that life is your gift to us and how we live life is our gift to you. Empower us with tools for successful living: creativity, wisdom, kindness, strength, peace, joy, love and faith that things will be okay.

Help us to remember to be mindful of the needs of others and remind us that only through loving interaction with each other can there ever be a better, more lovable world.