Peace. . .and back to March

On my way to a lab appointment to today, I tried to remember the Serenity Prayer. It's been a while since I recited the whole thing, and I stumbled toward the end. I had to look it up when I got home.

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

There is wisdom for me right now in those words. Learning acceptance, wisdom, enjoying one moment at a time. Courage.

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And a phone call from a friend, especially kind words of encouragement, acknowledgment reminded me that some people have a special talent for that. And of this quote which I read yesterday on Momastery.

“The plain fact is that the world does not need more successful people, but it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have little to do with success as our culture has defined it.” – David Orr

". . .It needs people who live well in their places."

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In March,  we finally took our long-awaited family camping trip--the one we had to miss in the fall because I was too sick. And really, waiting was worth it. I am feeling much better right now; I was able to get reservations into a park we'd wanted to visit for a long time.  We had a wonderful log cabin with a stone fire place in beautiful southeastern Oklahoma.

It was precious family time. Our college girl came too--time with all five of us is getting rarer and rarer. And it was one of the best times we've ever had. The younger kids fished like crazy--and caught nothing. But they had so much fun doing it. We played games, rented kayaks, built fires, and spent and hour or two singing one evening. You read that right--singing :)

At first the kids were sharing their favorite songs on i-tunes, but it turned into singing and in the end, they all serenaded ME! We are not a family of beautiful voices, but it was the best singing I've ever heard, and one of my favorite nights with them all, ever!

Peace be with you today.
Sherry