Greetings and peace be with you snakelegs, I am so sorry to hear that you are suffering, and there is very little any of us can say, except that we keep you in our prayers. You are such a caring and helpful person.
About four years ago a friend of mine was told she had cancer in the stomach, she was seventy at the time. She said to the doctor, tell me the worst possible scenario; bearing in mind I have far too much to do and I haven’t got time to die.
She is still going strong today, she does so much for the disabled in our community voluntarily, and she would be greatly missed.
Here is a simple yet powerful prayer whilst striving for peace in your heart.
Lord grant me the peace and serenity to live with the things I cannot change
Give me the courage to change the things I can.
And give me the wisdom to know the difference.
To understand how the prayer works here is how one lady used it whilst living in London during the second world war. Most days London was being bombed, she had no control over were the bombs would land. She would hear about; and see the death and destruction; she might be killed, her family might be killed, her home or work or shops might be bombed. Yet every day she had to get up, feed herself and her family, and do some work.
The first line of the prayer, grant me the peace and serenity to live with the things I cannot change.
She had to live with all the injustice, fear, anger, hate, death and destruction surrounding her. She could not change what happened yesterday, she cannot change other people. If you continually want to change; or try to change the things that cannot be changed you will make become more stressed.
Give me the courage to change the things I can.
The only thing she could change was herself and what was going on in her own heart and mind. Somehow she would have to keep coping or crack up, she did not know how long this destruction would last. Despite all the problems she directed her prayer to finding peace in her heart.
Give me the wisdom to know the difference.
The last line of the prayer is something you have to work out for yourself , you need to search for the real things that you can change; and strive to live with loving kindness with all the things you cannot change.
In the spirit of praying for an inner peace with God, that surpasses all understanding.
Eric