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.”—Reinhold Niebuhr.
My grandmother kept a copy of the Serenity Prayer on her bathroom mirror. Today I honor her by doing the same. I remember visiting her as a young girl and reading the prayer in her bathroom every morning. What I mainly remember is that I thought, “This is a ridiculous prayer! If there is a problem, I know if I try hard enough, I can solve or fix it!”
Many years later, many trials later, I have learned the truth of the Serenity Prayer the hard way. There are so many things I cannot change. The only thing I can change is myself and my reactions to other people and situations. I cannot change others. I try to share my firsthand experience with spiritual friends, but others like myself often need a firsthand rather than a secondhand experience to see this truth.
I wonder if it took my adoring grandmother as long as it did me to discover and learn to live the truth.
I wonder if she had as many setbacks as I often do—thinking I can change situations and others.
