Sunday, January 30, 2011

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.

A daylily says "ahhh"

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;

A gladioli straggler in bloom
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

Trumpet vine
 
Reinhold Niebuhr was the Billy Graham of his day. A minister of great political and cultural influence.
Egypt and her people are in our prayers today.  As the American theologian Niebuhr wrote-

"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary."

My prayer is cautious. Unrest led to the founding of this great nation. It is also how Castro took Cuba.
The rioting in Cairo- the antiquities in one of the worlds great museums at risk.
The end result is not certain, only that with change comes risk. Change with risk usually involves great pain.

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Billy Graham expressed the wisdom of his years in an article on Politics Daily. One full of irony, where it is reported given a chance to re-walk his influential career, he would have sidestepped time seen in the political world. He went on

"Whenever I counsel someone who feels called to be an evangelist, I always urge them to guard their time and not feel like they have to do everything."

Replace the word 'evangelist' with any profession.  Guarding our time is wisdom without borders.

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Plan A was for a new recipe to go up today. But an accident just ahead of me on Brea Canyon Road just north of the Tonner Canyon exit changed the rhythm of the day.Diamond Bar Patch has a photo I snapped from my cell phone. Hopefully there will be no more news to report from the one car rollover.

 

The images of flowers were taken in my garden before the rain began to fall. I like their resistance to following instructions; with advised of only one bloom a year. This being the middle of winter, evidently,was not good enough for them. The surprise of their color in the middle of the winter: my serenity. What is yours?

2 comments:

  1. Lydia,

    You flower photos are exquisite!!

    John was on Brea Canyon Road this morning and saw the crash. He said "A sports car and some fool driving stupidly and too fast on the curves of the canyon in the rain"! He is no doubt correct. Cop's insight! Can't bet it when it comes to a car accident like this. Hope the driver survives!

    Hugs, Trisha
    p.s. Now back to this Pro Bowl game that isn't very exciting because you have no one to root for!! Sue, I see there's a Pat's player on the field in blue!! :)

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  2. Such beautiful pictures of such gorgeous flowers!! And they look especially beautiful to me at this time of year....I find the beauty of nature gives me a peacedul serene feeling.....I miss being able to go down in my garden....
    I love the Serenity Prayer...I think it is the most profound of all prayers in terms of living one's life on a daily basis!
    So....the accident on Brea Canyon is our gain in seeing the beauty of your farden, my dear.

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