This happened that we might not
rely on ourselves but on God.
—2 Corinthians 1:9
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.
With these 27 words Reinhold Niebuhr homed in on two situations you confront almost daily: things that cannot be changed, and things that can be.
Some things can’t be changed, no matter how much you wish they could: an unsolvable family conflict, an illness that won’t yield to treatment, the death of a loved one.
On the other hand, some things can be changed: a bad habit, a cynical attitude, a touchy disposition—things within the reach of your control.
Never too bad, never too old,
never too late to change.