{"id":4579,"date":"2018-06-24T09:00:31","date_gmt":"2018-06-24T14:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=4579"},"modified":"2018-05-16T18:47:21","modified_gmt":"2018-05-16T23:47:21","slug":"choose-to-accept-what-you-cannot-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=4579","title":{"rendered":"Choose to Accept What You Cannot Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yet Another Year of Choices<\/em><\/p>\n

By Barbara Dahlgren<\/em><\/p>\n


\n\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have a phrase for helping me to accept what I cannot change: \u201cIt is what it is!\u201d<\/p>\n

Say you are seated in a restaurant, they bring the menu, and you notice there are no prices. You are too embarrassed to ask what the items cost or leave, so you order. When the bill comes \u2013 \u201cit is what it is\u201d \u2013 and you pay it, but the tip may be a little low.<\/p>\n

Say you are traveling and have car trouble in a remote town. There is only one lone gas station and you need your car fixed. When the bill comes \u2013 \u201cit is what it is\u201d \u2013 so you just \u00a0to pay it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Life is full of what I like to call \u201cit is what it is\u201d situations. Some are inconveniences such as: Your child gets sick at school and you must leave the big meeting you planned to \u00a0to so you can pick him up. You have a really, really bad hair day. Your car won\u2019t start and you are late. You get lost. Men forget to shave. Women get a run in their pantyhose. \u201cIt is what it is\u201d \u2013 so you deal with the situation.<\/p>\n

Some circumstances are just soooo unfair: The other person gets the promotion. A debilitating illness strikes a loved one. Your girlfriend breaks up with you. Someone gossips about you. You do the work; your supervisor takes the credit. \u201cIt is what it is\u201d \u2013 so you cope.<\/p>\n

Other things may be unfair but you get the benefit: You get the promotion when the other guy should have gotten it. You survive the accident when you should have died. The cop didn\u2019t give you a ticket even though you were speeding. \u201cIt is what it is\u201d \u2013 so you rejoice!<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t control life, but with God\u2019s help you can control your reaction to it. That\u2019s what the first part of the serenity prayer is talking about.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGOD, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

This serenity is not indifference to what we are going through. The prayer goes on to ask God for \u201ccourage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.\u201d \u00a0This serenity is a peace that can only come from God. It passes all understanding. (Philippians 4:6-7) We don\u2019t need to fret or worry. We know God is with us. This kind of peace or serenity can only come through a relationship with God.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Much of life is a mystery. We don\u2019t know what will come next all the time. It is what it is! I think God planned it that way. If we knew everything, we wouldn\u2019t need faith. We don\u2019t know what tomorrow holds. It is what it is! Fortunately, we know Who holds tomorrow. And God will see us through whatever lies ahead, if we let Him.<\/p>\n

Consider this… The great \u201cI AM\u201d (John 8:58) can help us make it through any \u201cit is what it is\u201d situations that come along in our lives!<\/p>\n

One final thought\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes good things may fall apart so better things can fall together.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0The Serenity Prayer<\/strong><\/p>\n

GOD, grant me the serenity<\/p>\n

to accept the things<\/p>\n

I cannot change,<\/p>\n

Courage to change the<\/p>\n

things I can, and the<\/p>\n

wisdom to know the difference.<\/p>\n

Living ONE DAY AT A TIME;<\/p>\n

Enjoying one moment at a time;<\/p>\n

Accepting hardship as the<\/p>\n

pathway to peace.<\/p>\n

Taking, as He did, this<\/p>\n

sinful world as it is,<\/p>\n

not as I would have it.<\/p>\n

Trusting that He will make<\/p>\n

all things right if I<\/p>\n

surrender to His Will;<\/p>\n

That I may be reasonably happy<\/p>\n

in this life, and supremely<\/p>\n

happy with Him forever in<\/p>\n

the next. Amen<\/p>\n

Reinhold Neibuhr-1926<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yet Another Year of Choices By Barbara Dahlgren I have a phrase for helping me to accept what I cannot change: \u201cIt is what it is!\u201d Say you are seated in a restaurant, they bring the menu, and you notice … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4579"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4579\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}