Tag Archives: serenity prayer

The Serenity Prayer

Hi! I’m Julie and still a grateful alcoholic. I thank you for allowing me to be of service to the group this week.
For the topic this week, I am suggesting the long form of the Serenity Prayer.

Serenity Prayer
(The Long Form)
God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can,
and the Wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardship 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

When I came to AA, I dove in and looked for as many resources as possible to help me on my daily sobriety. Thanks to technology I was able to download an app on my smartphone called the 12 step companion.

It’s basically the Big Book on my phone. I love it because it’s always with me.

They have a section of prayers and here is where I first saw the long form of the serenity prayer. I love the long form because it sums up how simple my life can be if I follow a few suggestions.
I ask for help in accepting life on life’s terms.

I ask for courage to take action.

I trust that in my right mind, with the help of my God, I can decipher what’s up to me and what’s not.

I live one minute, one hour, one day at a time.

Trying to enjoy as many of the moments as possible.

Trusting that the good will outweigh the not as good. And then not as good will move along as quickly as it comes.

Remembering there is a God and it’s not me. If I keep letting go and letting God be in charge, I can be happy. It’s my choice.

And finally trusting that if I try my best each day I will be rewarded when my time on earth is through.

It really can be so simple and it truly works.

There’s a lot of life going on for me. Working, married, mom of two little girls. It’s so great that I’m able to enjoy it. Be present for it.

Accept it and live it.
This is why I’ll keep coming back!
Please feel free to share on this topic or anything that’s on your mind.

Julie K
5/17/12

Serenity Prayer

As I look back over the past 21 years, it is praying the Serenity Prayer, sometimes as a mantra, that has helped me so much.

Just this past Tuesday my oldest son had surgery that seemed to go well but the next day he was found to have several blood clots in his lung and the lung was collapsed. I have been praying the Serenity Prayer steadily since my dear daughter-in-law called me. Good news, his lung is ok now and he will be on blood thinners for several months.

Then this morning the sewer backed up in my shower and in the tub in my other bathroom………………my landlords came over right after I called and fixed the problem and even cleaned the shower and tub!

Those are just 2 examples of when I used the Serenity Prayer just this week.

I always used to say at meetings that for me, one of the biggest things was “wisdom to know the difference”.

I’d love to hear from you ladies, who wish to share, your experience with the Serenity Prayer or anything you may need to discuss!

I’ll close with the complete Serenity Prayer, AA groups usually use the first 4 lines.

The complete 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;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next.

Amen.

(prayer attributed to Reinhold Neibuhr, 1892-1971)