Concluding Reflection: The Serenity Prayer and The Journey Today

I enjoyed being with you through my Lenten Wednesday Reflections on The Serenity Prayer. Here is my personal summary:

It has been over four years since I transitioned out of full time ministry. Once again, a new season is emerging for me. In my current stage of the Journey of life, I am learning there are few things that really matter, and these are matters of the heart. I have learned the power of Serenity: seeking God’s grace to “accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

“Taking one day at a time” I am claiming my agency. Who am I now? I am a spiritual guide and living under the care of the Good and True Shepherd. I am an apprentice of Jesus and his Way of being. The key is daily surrendering to the life giving will of God. As Ignatius of Loyola says: “God’s grace and love are enough for me.”

Each moment is full of goodness. Why are we in such a hurry to rush on to the next one? There’s so much here to see, to enjoy, to gratefully receive, to celebrate, to share.

It is time to let go of what Cistercian Monk Thomas Keating names as the “emotional programs for happiness,” three instincts that touch our deepest human longings: control, affection, and security. They work through our often unconscious motivations, our shadows, our unawareness. The spiritual life helps us to mature, to grow beyond these early childhood legitimate needs, that in adult life can become the seedbed for addiction, and can also lead to a false and illegitimate way of being in the world.

It is time to change the direction we are looking in for happiness! As the Serenity Prayer concludes:

“That I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him in the next.” In God alone, we have everything. That is truly the case. Trust it deeply.

I’m “reasonably happy.” Reasonably happy is more than enough! 

So when you find you have lost your way and your serenity, step back and:

Slow down.
Breathe.
Come back to the moment.
Receive the good as gift.
Accept the hard as a pathway to peace.
Abide in His love.

With you on The Journey,

Rob+