The Serenity Prayer is on a ring around my neck. I keep it as a reminder when I face life's challenges, because the most precious gift I can ever receive from God is the gift of SERENITY. I have always been a devout seeker of personal peace, and my spiritual gift is to bring calmness and peaceful presence during periods of chaos and struggle!
This year, 2016, has really tested my ability to be serene during major life changes. In March, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer. In June, I lost my husband of eight years to an untimely death. My mother has been dealing with myriad health challenges where I am called on daily to support her and give her care. I watch how so many people are facing these same things. Untimely deaths. Disease challenges. Weird and strange things that don't make sense and cause us to fret and feel out of control.
It is possible to be serene when you accept the things you cannot change. What's done is done. I had to accept that I had cancer. I had to accept my husband's death. I had to accept my mother's situation. I had to accept where I was in those moments and choose to be serene. Then I could focus on what to do. What I could control. What I could change. And ask God for COURAGE to make those changes. Oh how much difference acceptance makes when it is done FIRST.
Whenever any situation comes where you wonder what to do, ACCEPT it first. That is the key to SERENITY and living a peaceful life.