Season of Thanks: Day 20

Today I give thanks for the Serenity Prayer. For anyone unfamiliar with it, the prayer goes like this: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.” What I am perhaps less thankful for is my measure of wisdom as it applies here.

And that’s the real key, I suppose: to know the difference between what is within my power to change and what is not. But to take that one step further, it is not just what am able to change, but what things should I change. I know that I have the power to change some things that I am truly not authorized to change. Again, the real key to serenity is knowing what I ought to be taking on and what I ought to be letting go.

Today, I will try to distinguish the difference by managing my own expectations. I will ask myself two questions when I find myself at this crossroad: What is my expectation about this circumstance and what happens if that hope is not met? Sometimes things which don’t seem important are, and often things which appear vital don’t really turn out to be.

With all that said, I think it is appropriate to share the rest of the prayer. Most people are familiar with the part I quoted above; however, I believe the complete prayer offers a bit more specificity on how to achieve serenity. So without further ado, here is the prayer in its entirety:

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 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.