Serenity, Courage, and Living One Day at a Time

Sunday is often when I pause and turn inward. I take time to reflect on my spirit and how it supports me on this journey. For me, spirituality is part of healing, centring me when life brings uncertainty.

Most of us have heard the Serenity Prayer in its simple and familiar form:

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.

These words highlight the main message: true peace comes not from control but from knowing what we can change, what we need to accept, and what we should let go.

But the prayer also encourages us to live one day at a time, to stay present, and to accept that hardship can be part of finding peace. That part speaks to me.

Since returning home, I have reduced my medication twice. One drug side effect is hand and foot syndrome. Weather affects this, and it has for me. I did not have it in Costa Rica's consistent warmth. Returning to changing weather reminds me that some things are beyond my control.

On this journey, your body may need to heal from a drug for a time. That happened to me. I healed and am now back on the medication at a lower dose.

With stage IV cancer, we hope to stay on a drug as long as it works and side effects are manageable. This medication works for me, so I want to remain on it. After three days back on it, I am doing well.

I share this not as medical advice, but as a real-life example of practicing acceptance: I cannot control the weather, every side effect, or how long the medication will work. Instead, I focus on what I can control: my response.

I can listen to my body, communicate with my health team, care for my hands and feet, rest as needed, adjust, remain hopeful, and choose courage where needed.

And then, I can let go of what is not mine to control.

That is not always easy. Living with stage IV cancer means living beside uncertainty. It means there are always questions without immediate answers. Will this medication continue to work? Will the side effects remain manageable? What will the next scan show?

Those questions are real. But they are not where I choose to live.

Instead, I try to return to today.

Today, I feel well.

Today, I can hold my grandchild.

Today, I can go to the gym.

Today, I can work in my gardens.

Today, I can enjoy the sunshine.

Today, I can continue to do many of the things I love.

For me, serenity is not about having all the answers, knowing the future, or pretending there is no hardship. It is about returning to the present and noticing the gifts still here.

The Serenity Prayer reminds me that acceptance is not giving up. Acceptance is making peace with what I cannot change, so I have the energy to show up for what I can.

Courage is not always loud. Sometimes courage is taking the next pill after a difficult pause. Sometimes it is trusting a lower dose. Sometimes it is calling the doctor, resting your body, or choosing not to let fear take over the day.

And wisdom is learning, again and again, where to place your energy.

On this Sunday, I remind myself of what matters most: I cannot know everything about tomorrow, but I can choose acceptance, courage, and to live fully today, one day at a time.

It is a sacred practice. Every day lived with acceptance, courage, and wisdom is a reminder of hope.

Reflection:

Where in your life are you being called to embrace acceptance, gather courage, and find meaning in today?