The Serenity Prayer

God, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, 
the 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 a pathway to peace;
taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;
trusting that You will make all things right (new) if I surrender to Your will;
so that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with You forever in the next. 
Amen.
-Reinhold Niebuhr

Most people stop at "difference", I did too til I knew there was more!  And the more is SO MUCH MORE.  Its important!  Those lines are the ones I find myself repeating more often, like...

living one moment at a time...
I so often find myself not living in THE MOMENT.  I'm either beating myself up over the past or living in the past hurt.  Or I am so focused on the WHOLE day, week, month planning that I ignore the PRESENT (which is a gift, remember!)

...accepting hardships as a pathway to peace...
oh boy...diapers can be a hardship...really they can be!  Rebellion in your child.  A detached family of origin, finances, addiction, death of a spouse or child...God works through all of that pain and suffering for HIS GLORY. Keep reading the prayer...

HE WILL MAKE ALL THINGS RIGHT (NEW)...IF I SURRENDER TO HIS WILL.
This where I land and think hmmmmm...new.  New doesn't mean fixed, comfortable, managable in the present, the rest of the prayer indicates new as in eternity and that makes the most sense, that lines up with the book of Revelation.

Sometimes life is hard when the new isn't instant.  When the pain lingers.  When the hurts and betrayals resurface reminding us again to accept that hardship as a pathway to peace.  That pathway is, well exactly that...a path meant to walk through to heal.  I'm not going to lie, its not easy, its painful.  But our Hope is in Jesus Christ alone and he does promise to make all things new AND he promises to walk that pathway with you!  Keep walking.  Grab a cup of coffee and your Bible God is always ready and waiting to walk through life with you.  Have a blessed day!

NIV Revelation 21:5  "He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

NASB Deut 31:8 "The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."

Simple yet so profound...

The moment I wake up my mind is spinning 100+ mph (or whatever, I don't lay there for an hour...seriously like my kids would ever allow that!).  The typical morning is I need to do this and that oh and scrub the tubs today and change bed sheets, and teach teach teach (that has to be a top priority as a homeschooling family...I cannot forget that one; don't worry, I never FORGET).  Then pinterest (let's just stay off social media today b/c I have too much to do today.  Oh and I should take the kids to the library and then maybe the park.  Perhaps DQ for breakfast, wait lunch.  I should reach out to my BFF, I miss her!  Oh and I have to memorize all the Bible Scriptures to sign language for CC and and and and.  That's just a watered down sample of my ADD mind at 5:30am.
And then....I read something so simple, yet so profound!
"There is hard work in surrendering to God.  Being a follower of Christ is all about getting to know the heart of God and having a close relationship.  The best part is, this relationship is the only one we take into heaven.  So I must choose to get to know Jesus.  If I don't, the end of my life could look like this: I walk slowly up to the pearly gates and wait while someone checks to see if my name is in the BOOK.  I then walk forward to shake Jesus' hand, but I walk slowly because I don't know him that well.  For me, getting to know Him better means that I'll run through the pearly gates, jump into the Lord's lap, give him a big hug AND FINISH THE CONVERSATION WE STARTED THAT MORNING." -Meg Wilson (emphasis added)
Simple, yet so profound.  I don't do that!  Obviously, read that messy 1st paragraph.  And so I woke up one morning and said, "HI GOD."  I think I ever chuckled a bit.  How silly of me not to run to the creator FIRST thing every morning!  Don't get me wrong I pray with my husband before he leaves for work, so we do pray in the "morning."  But I'm not giving God the very first part of my day, my thoughts, my life, my day!  So I have started...
"HI GOD!  Its so hard!  Thank you for my wonderful blessings.  Please give me the strength for the day for all you have created me to be."
He promised he would...give me that strength and he also said  Have A Relaxed Day.  I love you, we got this together.

Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."