Snow and Ice

I'm originally from the South and I have come to find snow and ice to be very difficult obstacles to my life. When I was a kid snow was a big thing, a pleasant surprise. We got to go outside and build snowmen and run through the snow. I remember as a kid making snow cream - take some snow, put a little milk in it and a little vanilla -wow, that was great!

When I first moved to New York in 1978 it was to Rochester. I found he snow out there to be a fun challenge. I learned to drive in the snow. To accept snow as part of everyday life in Rochester. I have lived in Albany and in Stephentown and Old Chatham, all with huge snowfalls. Clintondale has its share of snow, but it's nowhere as much as Rochester or even Stephentown.

As I get older, however, I find snow and ice to be unpleasant surprises. I am tempted to want to move to a warmer climate. I can get crabby and depressed.

But you know what? It's life! As long as I am living here - and I believe that God brought me here and wants me to stay here a while longer - as long as I am living here, I need to accept the fact of snow. I don't have to like it, but I do have to accept it.

There are a whole lot of other things I don't have to like but I have to accept. In fact, that's the way life is. I was at a meeting tonight where we ended with the Serenity Prayer. That Prayer has become a way of life for me. "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." Acceptance is key to living a life filled with serenity.

So is change. When I see something that needs changing, and God calls me to make the change, then I will have the power given me by the Spirit to change according to God's will.

Acceptance and change. And the wisdom to know when to do which.

I pray for anyone reading this blog the grace to live by the Serenity Prayer. I pray for you the grace of God in your life.