A friend gave the the full version of the Serenity Prayer. I had only heard the first 4 lines:
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.
But there’s more! And the rest brings incredible perspective! Here it is in its full entirety:
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;
talking 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 will may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.
This prayer was written by Reinhold Niebuhr and published in 1951. His full name is Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr and he was an American Theologian, ethicist, public intellectual commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. He lived from 1891 to 1971.
