Finding Serenity
I’m not a big fan of memorized prayers.
They feel unnatural to me.
After all, there’s no one on this planet who I convey the same memorized, rehearsed message to on a regular basis!
I’m pretty sure if I had the same scripted conversation with my husband daily, our relationship would be pretty shallow and stale.
I’d rather talk freely with him and share my heart openly–in my own words.
That’s equally true when it comes to sharing my heart & life with God.
There is an exception though.
I love love love the serenity prayer.
Not the short version we all know.
But the one that delves into the crevices where the human soul gets stuck.
(Not familiar? Click here to get it!)
It embodies all of the work I do with clients, and the way I strive to live myself.
It speaks of the serenity we’re all wanting in this life (especially when things are chaotic and hard).
It offers assurance of the peace we want about the life that comes after this one.
It calls up the courage we need to create and live the life we were created for.
It bolsters deciphering when to change our circumstance, vs. accepting it “as is”.
It leads us to live in the moment and to use the hard times & struggles to learn & grow.
While I don’t recite this prayer verbatim to the Father, I do spend a lot of time exploring it with Him and holding my thoughts captive in order to live it out.
Because I know that we as humans spend too much energy, desire, focus, and time fighting to change things that are out of our control, and questioning whether we’re doing enough.
So often we miss what is because we’re busy longing for something different.
We fail to learn the lessons God’s trying to teach because we’re begging him to show us something else.
We stay stuck in a problem because we refuse to let go of the very thing we’re begging Him to take from us.
This prayer reminds me that the work I do matters.
Because we’re all called to own the things that are our responsibility and to let go, stop fighting, and give the rest to God.
It’s not easy work, and we all need help getting there at times.
We all struggle to believe that He’s making all things right.
That He’s working all things together for good.
If we truly believed that, how much more peace and serenity would we experience on a daily basis?
I’ve created something for you. It’s a beautiful copy of the extended version of the Serenity Prayer, along with a two page worksheet to help you change your perspective on the circumstances you’re hanging tightly to— thus taking a “pass” on the serenity that’s available to us all. Just click the button below for your downloadable copy of both!
Rest easy, friend. God’s got you covered. And if you’re having trouble seeing and resting in that, I’d love to help you get clear on this and free you up to live the life He created you for!
Get my free copy of the Serenity Prayer (extended version) and Worksheets now