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“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.” 

Until someone finds a cure, I have to live with the fact that I have ALS.  But I have been able to use my imagination to create new ways of doing things that have become more challenging if not impossible for me to do.  Today I discovered that I can type this column on my phone instead of having someone else type the audio dictation. I love having this freedom to type it myself!

God grant me the courage to change the things I can.  Everyday when I get up I think, “What can I do to make my situation better?”  As you may know from my other columns, I push myself to keep doing simple exercises hoping that they will help me continue to do some daily tasks.  Some days the exercises seem to be helping a lot and other days they seem like a waste of time and energy.  I need courage to push myself to keep doing them because if I don’t my body will get weaker.

This same problem arises with my prayer life.  Sometimes prayers are answered quickly and other times I think, “Why bother praying about that again?”  But deep down in my heart I know that I will always find the courage to pray because prayer gives me strength, peace and hope.

God grant me the wisdom to know the difference.  Wisdom is a gift that becomes more plentiful with age.  We have all had times in our lives when we have said, “I wish I had known then, what I know now.”  Sometimes it would be easier to ignore the wisdom we have acquired over the years and instead revert back to our childish ways of trying to solve problems.  Fortunately, we know better.  I know that if I had a temper tantrum every time I became frustrated with my physical disability, I would not get anything done. 

I have learned that our minds are very powerful, and if we have the courage to imagine what we may be able to change, then we may be given the wisdom to understand how we can make that change happen.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.  The courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” Amen. 

– Reinhold Niebuhr