A few weeks ago, we went to watch the football, England vs USA, at Wembley Stadium. Our whole day had been easy and smooth and absolutely joyous. It was awesome, we had the best time. And we had the pleasure of watching England win - woohoo!
As we left the stadium, we went back to our car, which we'd left in a local car park. Before we had even made it back to our vehicle, it was quite clear that the roads were gridlocked. Thousands of football fans had also driven up to Wembley and now, all at once, everyone was trying to leave the area.
Our own car park was no different. The people and their cars inside were unable to drive out because the road were jammed outside. For the time being, everyone was stuck, right where they were.
We jumped into our car, whacked on the heating (it was quite late and a bit chilly) and I started handing out the snacks to the kids (which I had packed earlier in the day, ready for the road trip home). At first, we couldn't even think about inching the car forward, so we just sat in our seats, eating chocolate bars and packets of crisps, listening to the local radio.
I said to my family, 'Don't worry, I've got this, I'm going to ask the Angels to clear the roads for us.'
And that's what I did. I asked the Angels to move the traffic along, to open a space for us to move into the queue and to clear the roads so we could have an effortless journey home. Voila! I said, 'Don't worry, it will start moving in a minute, the Angels will sort it out.'
Immediately, a song started playing on the radio. It's not one I've heard before, some sort of dance tune and then a man started singing. The song was not familiar to me but the lyrics certainly were. He was singing 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.
I knew that my own prayer to the Angels had been heard and this was their answer. Ohhhh how I laughed! The Spirit World can be so funny and I love the endless ways they can answer our calls.
Apparently, this one was out of their hands. Turns out, we would be sat in that car park for the next hour.
Eventually, we escaped onto The North Circular, which would take us another hour and then once we left London, it was yet another hour home. Three hours in total. But, we were safe and sound and without trouble the entire time and we hand one another for great company, for which we are thankful.
In the weeks since, there's been a number of times where The Serenity Prayer has popped into my mind. There is (as always), a lot going on, in many different ways, in my own world and in the lives of those I love and care about. There's a mishmash of the tricky, the heart-breaking, the celebratory and the glorious. It's been a wonderful time to have The Serenity Prayer to hand and it feels good to share it with you today, to remind you of it, to hand it back to you, so you can carry it around in your pocket and call on it when you need it.
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.
Lots of love,
Emma