Yes, most people would reply: “God, grant me grace to accept with serenity, the things that cannot be changed; courage to change the things which should be changed; and the wisdom to know the difference...” It appears on greeting cards, coffee mugs and memorabilia of all sorts. But did you know that it was written by Reinhold Niebuhr in the darkest days of the Second World War? And did you know that this was just the beginning of the prayer?
The prayer continues, “...living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; and taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is. Not as I would have it, but trusting that you will make all things right, if I but surrender to your will. So that I may be reasonably happy in this life; and supremely happy with you forever, in the next.”
“Not as I would have it, but trusting that you will make all things right, if I but surrender to your will.”: here are echoes of Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane “... not my will but Yours”...
Comments