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| Image: George Meningsdoza |
Good morning, good God!
If anyone knows
how often I pray the Serenity Prayer -
it's you, Lord!
God, grant me serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference...
And you also know
how often I counsel others
to offer this great prayer...
So often the Serenity Prayer is the best answer
to a prayer for help,
a prayer made in distress,
a prayer to discern what to do next,
where to go next,
what to say next,
what to pray next...
Just a few days ago
I was praying those words, asking for help
to accept the things I cannot change...
Those words have always made sense to me, Lord -
they possess a certain logic
and a down-to-earth sensibility:
they ring clear as a bell
with the undeniable truth
that many things are beyond my control,
beyond my grip and grasp,
beyond power to alter, change, or stop...
God, grant me serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference...
But a few days ago,
praying that line over and over again,
a mantra of trust and hope -
just a few days ago I prayed those words
again and again
until I found myself praying them
from a place deep in my soul
where acceptance can take root
and hold me to its truth...
Your Spirit helped me experience acceptance
as I never had before
and I've been able, more or less,
to stay in that place,
to stay with the peace that comes of accepting,
truly accepting,
the things I cannot change...
In that acceptance, Lord,
I've found the peace of acknowledging
what I can and cannot do...
I've found the strength of entrusting to you
what I cannot handle myself...
I've found the relief of letting go those things
over which my worry and fear
have no jurisdiction, no power...
I've found the clarity of seeing things as they are
and not as I wish or want them to be...
I've found the serenity
of being at peace with my limitations...
I've found the wisdom of knowing how much
I need to rely on your grace...
And I've begun to find the meaning of another prayer,
your prayer, Lord:
Not my will but yours be done!
So this morning I offer you my thanks and praise
for that moment of deep acceptance
from which has flowed such peace
from your heart into my own...
I offer you my gratitude, Lord,
and my prayer that you maintain me
in the sanctuary of acceptance I've found
within my soul...
When I'm tempted to try
to change the things I know I cannot change,
bring me back to this place of acceptance,
to the peace of this acceptance,
and help me trust and fall into your arms,
secure in my hope that you are my strength,
my rock, my shelter, my refuge,
my way, my truth and my life...
God, grant me serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom known the difference...
Amen.
-->If anyone knows
how often I pray the Serenity Prayer -
it's you, Lord!
God, grant me serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference...
And you also know
how often I counsel others
to offer this great prayer...
So often the Serenity Prayer is the best answer
to a prayer for help,
a prayer made in distress,
a prayer to discern what to do next,
where to go next,
what to say next,
what to pray next...
Just a few days ago
I was praying those words, asking for help
to accept the things I cannot change...
Those words have always made sense to me, Lord -
they possess a certain logic
and a down-to-earth sensibility:
they ring clear as a bell
with the undeniable truth
that many things are beyond my control,
beyond my grip and grasp,
beyond power to alter, change, or stop...
God, grant me serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference...
But a few days ago,
praying that line over and over again,
a mantra of trust and hope -
just a few days ago I prayed those words
again and again
until I found myself praying them
from a place deep in my soul
where acceptance can take root
and hold me to its truth...
Your Spirit helped me experience acceptance
as I never had before
and I've been able, more or less,
to stay in that place,
to stay with the peace that comes of accepting,
truly accepting,
the things I cannot change...
In that acceptance, Lord,
I've found the peace of acknowledging
what I can and cannot do...
I've found the strength of entrusting to you
what I cannot handle myself...
I've found the relief of letting go those things
over which my worry and fear
have no jurisdiction, no power...
I've found the clarity of seeing things as they are
and not as I wish or want them to be...
I've found the serenity
of being at peace with my limitations...
I've found the wisdom of knowing how much
I need to rely on your grace...
And I've begun to find the meaning of another prayer,
your prayer, Lord:
Not my will but yours be done!
So this morning I offer you my thanks and praise
for that moment of deep acceptance
from which has flowed such peace
from your heart into my own...
I offer you my gratitude, Lord,
and my prayer that you maintain me
in the sanctuary of acceptance I've found
within my soul...
When I'm tempted to try
to change the things I know I cannot change,
bring me back to this place of acceptance,
to the peace of this acceptance,
and help me trust and fall into your arms,
secure in my hope that you are my strength,
my rock, my shelter, my refuge,
my way, my truth and my life...
God, grant me serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom known the difference...
Amen.
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