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.This first stanza of the Serenity Prayer is so very powerful. This prayer is often used by addicts to help them with the 12 steps. I personally love this prayer as it helps me to put life into perspective most days. It keeps me from blaming myself for things I cannot control and challenges me to step up and change the things that I can.
Kelly talks about fasting in this chapter - fasting is an awesome spiritual practice that is not often talked about. I too was raised Catholic and my family always "gave up" things for lent but the actual understanding of fasting is not something discussed. So this year I hope to read a book that I bought over 2 years ago that is all about the spirituality of fasting. I am fascinated by the concept and want to delve deeper into this important practice. That's my Lenten book for this year. Pray for me!
For those now aware - the above stanza is not the entire Serenity Prayer. I've included the rest of the prayer below:
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.