In just a couple of days, it will be May 1st. Throughout Europe, this day is known as “May Day” and is celebrated as a holiday with traditions like dancing around a maypole (a pole with ribbons attached to it), leaving anonymous baskets of flowers on neighbors’ doorsteps, and lighting “lucky fires” in the evening time. 
So why on earth do pilots who are in trouble scream into their microphones, “Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!”?
The answer doesn’t really have much to do with maypoles or baskets or even fires. Rather, it has to do with a French word. That French word is “m’aider” or “help me!” (you can maybe here it in there: “me – aid….ier”). It turns out that a guy named Frederick Mockford so happened to be a senior radio officer for an airport that mostly flew between France and England. They needed a word that would indicate “hey! I need help!” and would be recognizable by both the English and French pilots. Mockford came up with “Mayday!”
“Mayday” is probably a pretty decent prayer for us to consider as Christians. We know that we can call out to God for help, but often times we try to do things on our own without crying out to God first, “help me.” We can get wrapped up in our self sufficiency and forget our need for God, and when we do that, we find ourselves really getting into trouble – really needing to cry out “mayday!” to God.
This May, consider making a simple prayer to God every day – remind yourself at some given time to just cry out to Him. “Mayday!” Maybe every time you write “May” or “5/..”, remind yourself that God is there to hear your “mayday” call and come to You with help and rescue. Mayday!