THE LENTEN STRETCH

LENT BEGINS WEDNESDAY, and, for me, it’s the true season of making resolutions . . . of trying to become what God would have me be . . . of remembering that who I am is a gift from God and that who I become is my gift to God.

MY DEAR COUSIN reminded me of one of the great resolutions, attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr who used it in a sermon in the 1940’s. It has held up well. I’ve reproduced it here in its entirety.

THE SERENITY PRAYER

GOD, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
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 hardship 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 will surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen

BLESSINGS during what I hope will be a season of growth for us all.

You’re blessed. Be a blessing!