The Serenity Prayer
I have always been fond of the Serenity Prayer. I used to have a little prayer card on my bathroom mirror, and I read it every day. I like the simplicity of the three elements of the prayer: Serenity, Courage, and Wisdom. These three things are not always easy to come by, but I feel like Lent is the perfect time to emphasize this prayer.
Serenity is defined as the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled. Despite all of my efforts, I have no control over most things in my life; I can only control my actions and reactions. This Lent I plan to look for serenity in my daily life through reflection and prayer. I cannot make anyone react or feel the way I feel about something. I recently had a situation in my life that caused me a great deal of stress. Initially, I wanted to respond. But I realized no good would come of it. Unless I agreed with this person, there would be no happy ending and my response would fall on deaf ears. So I prayed and asked for prayers from a dear friend. Without knowing the details of the situation, she assured me through text that she was praying for me and that God had me in his arms. I felt calm. By the time I saw my friend later that same evening, my situation seemed much less daunting, and I was at peace remaining with my choice.
Courage has several definitions, but one source defined it as strength in the face of pain or grief. We live in a world with unspeakable suffering everywhere you look. War, guns, poverty, abortion, the list goes on and on. However, we must courageously seek to change the things we know we can influence. Maybe it's a student letting a teacher know that they were uncomfortable with a discussion held in class and that it was offensive to them because they have strong religious beliefs. Our kids must be courageous to show and live their faith while our world does not make it easy for them. Lent is all about Jesus’ courage. He knew what was happening and what the outcome would be, and he courageously accepted his fate. He knew the devotion some would give him, and also knew of the great betrayals he would suffer. He continued to show courage, as did Mary and his disciples. Knowing the great suffering he would endure, and yet he continued to believe and be courageous for us. He suffered and died for our sins. We are asked to sacrifice for only 40 days.
Finally, wisdom is defined as the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment. With news being 24/7 and always at our fingertips, wisdom often seems fleeting. Anyone with an opinion can post on the internet and be an expert. This is not wisdom. So many times in our lives we rely on our own ideas or abilities to achieve or overcome some aspect or thing in our lives. If we would rely on the wisdom we gain from Jesus, we would all be so much better off. I have a former student who is a tremendous human. He has lived an awesome, worldly life. But he is angry. He despises religion and barely tolerates those who rely on it to get through life's ups and downs. In his almost fifty years, he has been dealt some pretty terrible blows. The faith he was raised with has slowly turned into anger and resentment. As the people in his life have aged and passed away, he has lost his faith. He is an avid reader and will debate with anyone about almost any topic, but when it comes to faith his arguments are less about his knowledge and more about his hurt. How could God let all of these tragedies happen in his life? His knowledge is unreliable because his pain is so great. The wisdom he truly seeks comes from reading scripture, philosophers, books about saints, and anything else he can absorb to see the wisdom that comes from knowing the truth about Jesus. I pray every day that he finds the wisdom to know the difference and keep fighting to find something to believe in.
I pray that we all have the clarity of mind to seek God’s grace this Lent and find the serenity, courage, and wisdom we need to live our daily lives as best we can while following his lead.
