frisbee and serenity

today mike and i went to the park to play frisbee golf.  i have always been miserable at frisbee mainly because i try to throw it 2 or 3 times and then give up because i decide that i will never learn to do it right.  what made this time a little different was that i was determined to keep trying and i actually listened to the suggestions of my support system (mike) as i concentrated on learning.  as i practiced, i found myself getting better and better at making the silly disc do what i wanted it to.  i actually began to enjoy the game. 

this made me think of the serenity prayer and having the courage to change the things i can.  so many times in my life i have decided that i will not even try to change something about myself because i gave it a half-hearted effort once (usually without seeking help from God or support from others) and it didn’t work out.  i love the full version of the serenity prayer which most people have never heard.  here it is:

Prayer for Serenity

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.
Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardship as a pathway to peace;
taking, as Jesus did,
this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it;
trusting that You will make all things right
if I surrender to Your will;
so that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.

                                                                                Reinhold Niebuhr