Acceptance

Acceptance

Eileen Renders

   We all must face disappointments, failure, the loss of a loved one, or a hurtful betrayal in our lives, and many of us react in very different ways. One might feel as though this disappointment or rejection was meant to be, and carry on with our life. Others may feel strong resentment, and a need for retaliation, and suffer much anguish or depression.

   May I suggest that it is in accepting our failures and rejections that we become stronger? How can this be one may think, and yet I call your attention to the fact that when we submit to our failings and weaknesses and ask God to lead us we find comfort, strength, wisdom, and acceptance.

   One of the most well-known examples of this is found in Alcoholics Anonymous’s prayer. It is called the Serenity prayer. This well-known prayer has been attributed to various theologians and saints. It was adopted in the early 1940s by a group member said to have come across it in a newspaper obituary. However, the original diary entry for the prayer is said to go back to 1932 and was made by the German-American theologist Reinhold Niebuhr. Other individuals have been credited for The Serenity prayer, including St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis of Assisi, and Aristotle. Also, there seem to be a few slightly different versions of the prayer.

   It is fair to say that Alcoholics Anonymous may be where, how often, and how successful this prayer became so well known. The prayer itself is a plea to God almighty to have mercy on us in granting us the wisdom to recognize that without His mercy we are helpless. We ask God to grant us the understanding to accept that we are powerless over certain conditions in life, and we pray for the ability to accept what we cannot change with the ability to move forward with our lives in a positive God-fearing way. Moreover, we have learned over many years through Alcoholics Anonymous how this prayer to God has kept many human beings from perishing from alcohol, and instead gave them the courage and trust to move forward in faith as a contributing member of one’s community. 

   Finally, realizing that we have no power over others, we can accept that all we can change in our lives is ourselves with the help of God! This prayer works in many different aspects of many lives, including those who are not alcoholics.

   God grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change what I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."