God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at at 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 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.
The first part of this prayer is so popular and most people, including until recently, me, don't know the second half of this prayer even exists. But how great it is--so many good thoughts in so few words. Obviously, the most thought-provoking part of this prayer to me right now is the part that says "taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it." That is so hard for me because there are so many times that I want to only accept the world, and especially the people in it, on my terms, when they are living in ways that I can handle, in ways that I deem appropriate or acceptable. It's hard for me when I can't see the end result and the unknown is my nemesis. It's like a thorn in my soul--I can't handle the unknown. But, I want to be able to take it one day at a time and accept whatever situation with the love, grace and understanding that Christ did while still maintaining His character lived out. Life is such a process--and it's about that journey and about the destination. Both matter. Both are important. Both are hard. Both are worth it. And I want to do both well. What good is it if I get to the destination and either missed out on the experience of getting there because the destination was all I could see, or, if I reach the destination frazzled and in a tizzy because I could never see past my current circumstances and then one day I am suddenly smacked in the face with the end? I want to get to my destination worn out from the hard work I put in, but not frazzled as a result of severe short-sighted, tunnel vision.
