by Jerry Senn
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time,
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace,
taking, as he did, this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it,
trusting that he will make all things right
if I surrender to his will—
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with him forever.
(Serenity Prayer)
No one knows exactly how old it is or who prayed it first. But, it teaches us that surrender is, among other things, the doorway to serenity. We would all like a serene life, but we were born into the wrong world for that one. Serenity requires surrender because if we live at the mercy of our ever-shifting and never-satisfied desires, we will be tugged and drawn in a hundred competing directions. Only full allegiance to a good greater than ourselves can give us a center and a focus. Serenity is not based on pleasant circumstances. Serenity is a by-product of finding a solid foundation on which to ground our life. It comes not when we master our outer world but when we surrender our inner one. (John Ortberg, “Steps,” p 68)