Finding Serenity in Surrending

"Serenity" oil on canvas, 16 x 20" available at Something of Bev's Gift Shop, Milford, CT

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 world
as it is, not as I would have it; 
Trusting that He will make all things right
if 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


Who likes to surrender? If you're like me, I'm not big into surrendering... especially if I'm passionately about a cause, a project, a job or even a person. Joking around I use to say my middle name was Perseverance. 

I can remember as a little girl I would sit with my mom's sewing box in my lap and untangle the huge ball of tangled up thread from a dozen spools. I have no idea how long it took, an hour or more but I was determined and I wouldn't give up. Even with a pair of scissors by my side that I could have easily snipped away the knotted and woven cluster. But instead I carefully studies the entanglement like a puzzle that needed to be solved.
But now, as I'm approaching a half a century old..  I've come to realize that not everything can be solved with hard work and determination. Something. Sometimes. Somehow. Surrendering is the answer.  The answer to finding peace and serenity in a circumstances that you have no control over ..
but know that
 the One that is on your side, 
the One that is cheering for you, 
that loves you and only wants the best for you...
.. does have control.  

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will direct your paths.

Proverbs 3, 5-6