Invitation a pathway to serenity
In the Seminars I run, I find fear lurking just beneath the surface when we explore why we are not inviting. It is anxiety, it is the avoidance of that fear which makes us unsettled and upsets our peace of mind. We try to hide it by hoping it will go away. Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict. The Serenity Prayer is the common name for an originally untitled prayer by twentieth century American theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr. The prayer has been adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs.
The best-known form is: 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. Invitation gives us the opportunity to develop both courage and through acceptance patience. This leads to peace and a serenity of being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
