Staying Clean and Sober in The Everyday World

Christian Glitter by www.christianglitter.com

I wanted to take a short break today to talk about the Serenity prayer and what it means to those of us who are in recovery.  We say it so often that we sometimes take it for granted and do not fully comprehend the deeper meaning.

It starts with God.  God has a different meaning for everyone.  Being a devoted Christian myself, I know the awesome power in calling to God.

“Grant me” is asking for a gift. This is an acknowledgment that we can not achieve these things on our own.  We are putting in a request to the One who can fulfill our desire when we have tried everything else.

Serenity is a peace of mind that surpasses all understanding.

Accept is to let go of our desire to control other people, places, and things.  This is an impossible task on our own.

Courage is one thing that is difficult for us to muster up at times therefore we must ask for it.  we are so set in the comfort of what we know that it requires real courage to make a change.  Stepping out of our comfort zone is a scarey proposition at best.  We become so familuar with things in our addiction that to make a change in our behavior means that we must venture into the unknown.  The unknown is frightening and requires courage to make that venture.

Wisdom  is another thing that we are not familuar with.  we think we are wise but wisdom is not measured my what we know but by what we do with what we know.  True wisdom comes from above and God gives freely to those who ask.

Knowing the difference between what we can and can not change is essential to our recovery.

As an addict we tend to lean toward our own understanding and therefore we must call upon God to  give us true understanding.  That is the true message behind the Serenity Prayer.

The next time you say it do so with a true desire for your request to be granted and watch the difference this makes in your life.