A Norvell Note for November 1, 2021
Vol. 24 No. 43
Serenity
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change
the things that I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Most of the frustration, disappointment, discouragement, and anger I experience result from trying to change the things that I cannot change. So here is my partial list of things I cannot change: People. The past. Life events. Weather. Who lives or who dies. Other people’s attitudes, actions, words, or thoughts. People (Oh, I already mentioned people).
The longer I live, the longer my list.
The list of things I can change is much shorter: Me.
I can adjust my attitude, actions, words, thoughts, how I treat people, how I respond to other people, how I react to life events, and how I arrange the furniture in my study.
I can change myself.
Just in case you have similar lists tucked away in the back of your mind, here are a few attitudes I need to apply as I begin to change myself. Maybe these will help you too.
Be kind to yourself. Change is hard. Some changes take time. If I mess up, I need to forgive myself (not make excuses) and start over. I am my worst critic.
Trust God to help you make the changes. I must trust God to help me accept the things that I cannot change, to change the things that I can change, and the wisdom to know the difference. Trusting God is the key to everything. As we used to sing, “Without Him, I can do nothing.”
Ask for help when I need it. I am not very good at this. I tend to think that I can, or should be able, to handle anything that comes my way. I have learned and trying to accept that sometimes I need help. That word trust shows up again. I must trust that it is okay to ask for help.
Repeat this prayer often.
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change
the things that I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
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