Continuing with the Serenity Prayer....

Today we take a look at the second line: to accept the things I cannot change. 

The popular philosophies today stress personal power to create and change our lives.  I certainly agree that we have tremendous power to do just that, and yet...there are indeed things we cannot change.

I remember a time, long ago, when I was a member of what we called a ‘spirit-filled’ or ‘charismatic’ prayer group at my church.  Having received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we were taught that our faith could indeed move mountains.  When the mountains remained in place, we were chastised for our lack of faith.  Older and hopefully wiser, I know now that those who chastised us had been poorly taught, but at the time, it was horrifying to be told that had my faith been stronger, this or that person would have received the answer we’d prayed they might. 

Some things we cannot change.  It’s that simple.  The one who doesn’t love us cannot be forced into ardor.  The job we have lost is gone, given to another or eliminated entirely.  The pain we feel is genuine.  The friend or loved one persists in that which we would have them stop doing. We cannot fix the situation, and we cannot demand it change to our satisfaction.

Everything in us wars against such ideas.  We want to jam that square peg into that circular hole by sheer force of will.  We will NOT accept this, we cry in our souls. 

Now we need that serenity the Prayer asks of God, the peace that reminds us that the unhappiness of the moment is just that: the feeling of a moment.  Moments pass, and if we allow it, so does our pain.  How can we achieve this blessed peace? 

Prayer, of course, is one path to peace.  As we pour out our hearts to God or, perhaps even better, simply present ourselves before that loving God in wordless union, peace may come. 

We can live in hope, trusting that good things come to those who wait on the Lord.  We can trust that even in the unhappy moment, God is with us, working for good. 

Perhaps the most radical path to the peace we seek is surrender.  We simply yield.  “Let go, let God,” as the saying goes.  “Thy will be done.” 

It is hard to give over so completely.  Who wants to yield to the will of another, even when that other is God? 

But oh, what blessed relief when we quit fighting a battle we cannot win!  The freedom we gain through surrender has a sweetness all its own, a sweetness we can never know until we finally yield to Power greater than ours.
jean+