Monday is Martin Luther King Day and I’m reflecting on the first term Donald Trump and his cronies. We’ll need to redouble our efforts to combat white supremacy, Christian nationalism, and the wave of anti-democracy alive and well in our country. We have a long road to travel and a lot of work to do if we are going to keep our country headed in a better direction.
Continue reading “Faith quote by Dr. King”Ships, sailing, and dead weight
Any ship, sailing anywhere, anytime will get to where it’s going faster without dead weight. We all have extra baggage, whether it be emotional, or psychological, or spiritual. Extra baggage can even be physical weight. If we are not careful this extra baggage can weigh us down and slow us down on our journey.
Let’s consider what Paul said in the book of Hebrews…
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”
Hebrews 12:1 KJV
Notice that Paul warns to set aside “every weight, and the sin”. Obviously, sin will drag us down and do us harm on our journey. Sometimes though it’s not black and white blatant sin that hinders us. Anything that slows us down, or drags on our energy and momentum, we need to be diligent and vigilant about.
Dead weight can come in the form of keeping the wrong company. Maybe not getting enough rest, or sleep, setting aside enough time to read and pray can act like a headwind. Remember: any ship, sailing anywhere, anytime will get there faster without DEAD WEIGHT!
The Serenity Prayer
This simple, and wonderfully universal, prayer has been on my mind and heart a lot over the last few weeks. I decided to do some reading on it and decided to use it as an official post this week. Many of us know it, and can even say it from memory, even if you aren’t particularly religious or prayerful in your daily life.
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.
Reinhold Niebuhr
This prayer was written by Reinhold Niebuhr, an American theologian and seminary professor, in 1932-33. It became immensely popular rather quickly appearing in magazines, prayer journals, and many other publications. The notion of “serenity” appealed to the higher ideals and spiritual philosophy of Alcoholics Anonymous and was officially adopted as their organizational prayer in the 1940’s.
I never realized that the snippet which has become so pervasive and ubiquitous over the last nine decades was only the opening foray. The entire prayer goes like this:
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.
And here is a cool graphic I found in the source article. If you want to read that article in its entirety, just click the image below.
