god grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change,
the courage to change what i can,
and the wisdom to know the difference
each of these are so hard, but the last perhaps the hardest.
what is good and what is evil? what is right and what is wrong? this is the question of the ages.
1 kings 3:9 says:
give me a heart that listens that i may judge your people and tell the difference between good and evil.
solomon, the leader known for his great wisdom, realized that he must listen; because the difference between good and evil, right and wrong is not simple.
that this is the prayer for those struggling with addiction is especially appropriate.
drinking does not dull the pain, it distorts it. drugs do not reveal truths. a listening heart must be fully awake to hear that still small voice, whether you believe it is the voice of god or the voice of your true self.
it is called the serenity prayer for the first of the prayer which tells us to let go.
it doesn't matter how much we desire a thing if we know it is impossible. and it's not true that all things are possible.
i will never dunk a basketball.
i will never nurse another baby.
i will never hold my daddy's hand again.
all things are not possible. there are intense desires that we have that we must let go.
for the addict, that may mean a family forever lost. it may mean health that has been destroyed.
it doesn't matter what it is.
it matters that we have to let it go.
grant me the courage to change what i can.
courage is not a lack of fear. courage is doing what you fear.
fear that you can't do something, but you do it anyway.
fear that it may hurt, but you do it anyway.
fear of change, but you do it anyway.
jesus went into the wilderness to pray, to listen.
the wilderness of our lives is both where we encounter our pain and where we find the strength we need.
we all travel in wildernesses.
our choice is prayer. our choice is to listen.
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