Four weeks into quarantine and I had already read 8 books. I was desperate to find something “constructive” to do. So I dug into the closet and found an unfinished cross stitch project and thought this was the perfect time to complete it. This project was started back in the late 80’s…yes, that’s right…it is 30 years old! I had moved it, in its unfinished state, to 4 homes…always with the intention that I would someday find the time to finish it. I think I was meant to carry it around with me and pull it out at the exact time I needed this reminder. You see, the cross stitch is one of The Serenity Prayer.
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.
Sometimes I am amazed at the lessons life provides, if we only open our hearts and minds to them. We are in the midst of a pandemic that is so far beyond our control that I have no choice but to surrender. But in that surrender, I am not giving up. I am reminded of the things I can control like how I spend my days, feeling gratitude for my health and safety, how much exposure to news and social media I have, etc. We can each do our part to protect ourselves and those around us in the hopes that we can move forward.
I am also reminded that in these trying times, it’s extremely important to be gentle with ourselves. I found the following on Facebook and it resonated with me. In these trying times, don’t stress yourself out to be the best parent, student, employee, etc…. sometimes just being is enough!
