God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.
A prayer I can pray this afternoon but also a teaching I can learn from. For some reason today has been especially difficult and discouraging for both Tim and me.
Perhaps you recognize the words from the abbreviated and slightly adjusted version used in most 12 Step programs. The original was written by Reinhold Neibuhr, a 20th century American theologian.
