Well, here we are! Christmastime again. Do you ever have time experiencing the joy of Christ even though we are celebrating Christ at Christmas?
The "Serenity Prayer" has been really meaningful to me lately. The first line is an acknowledgement that there are things I will not change. The second line acknowledges that there are things the I can change.
Sometimes, I fall into thinking that I am powerless. And that is just where the enemy wants me. Weak and not realizing my potential as a Daughter of the Living God. However, there are things that can change, and need to change in my life.
One of those things is how I view Christmas. In my frustration with how the world handles the holidays and the gross commercialization or complete disregard of the spiritual nature of Christmas, I was failing to see my own sin. I have, for many years, dealt with dissapointment at Christmas. Usually, it was because things weren't perfect. It wasn't until this year that God really opened my eyes (which had obviously been closed!) He showed me that if my eyes are focused on Him, I can accept the world--not the way I would have it but the way it is--just as Jesus did. And when "things" go wrong at Christmas, just as they do any other time during the year, I can rest knowing that it isn't "stuff" that makes Christmas what it is.
The Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
courage to change the things I can
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time
Enjoying one moment at a time
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace
Taking, as He did, this sinful worldas it is, not as I would have it
Trusting that He will make all things rightif I surrender to His Will
That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next. Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
