Tuesday, January 24, 2012

A PIECE OF MY HEART...the serenity prayer

Have you read the "Serenity Prayer" lately?

For years this well known prayer has been around. Just this week I happened to come across an old copy that was tucked away in a box of old memories and pictures...

The Serenity Prayer
  God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

Such a short but profound poem. It suggests that in life, there are things that will be beyond our control. A person can eat healthy and exercise daily but they may still get sick. A person can work diligently at becoming a good steward, but still fall onto hard financial times. A person can work really hard at becoming a good friend, but yet struggle with having good relationships.

Face it, there are just some things in life that leave us struggling to understand why certain things happen. I have had lots of things happen in my own life that quite honestly, I just don't understand. The more I try to figure things out, the more I get confused. It is fair to say that even though some things cannot be understood, there is still a perfect purpose for it.

PROVERBS 3:5-6  "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

DEAR LORD: Today I choose to apply the Serenity Prayer to my life...to accept the things that I cannot change and to seek Your help in changing the things that I can. As I lean upon Your understanding, may I see purpose even in those things that I cannot control. I put my complete trust in You, especially for these things I do not understand. AMEN

 

 

2 comments:

Denise said...

Amen.

eph2810 said...

Amen to that, Laurie. I totally agree that there are some things I completely am confused about, but I know that at the end all will work out. Maybe not in this life-time, but in heaven for sure.

Thank you for the reminder of this wonderful prayer.