Serenity to surrender

Well, my spring break is officially coming to an end. Major bummer, I must say. It's been very relaxing and enjoyable, and I am not looking forward to returning to the monotony of the school year. Oh, well. Only six more weeks until summer.

For easter, my parents gave my sister and I these books with all kinds of quotes and such in them. I really liked looking through the quotes, but here is one that I really liked:

Why, my friends, would we not embrace every day? For even among the challenges in life, when we look closely, a challenge is just a blessing in disguise. When ridden of our vanities of this world and when we seek Christ, we see the true blessing that every waking moment truly reveals itself as.

I liked the message of this quote. Sometimes we get wrapped up in our worldly desires and things and we find it hard to surrender ourselves to God. Here is a beautiful prayer of serenity.

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

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths. Proverbs 3, 5-6

It's not an easy prayer by any means. We can find it difficult to surrender beyond our selfish and hipocritical hearts to truly dedicate our lives to Christ and spend every moment living towards him. Spirituality and our relationship with God is a lifelong journey, and no one is perfect. However, it is our calling and our responsibility to embrace the blessings we have every day, amidst our sometimes seemingly difficult lives, and trust God with our lives.

"Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me. I surrender it all to You to be disposed of according to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more." St. Ignatius Loyola

A prayer and a meditation for today.

Blessings,

Avery