New Beginnings

I'm borrowing the prayer of St. Francis from the Dear Abby column.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Many times we find that we are not progressing forward in our lives because we are not able to forgive, we are blinded by anger, we lack hope because we have lost our faith.  We see only darkness instead of the light of God.  We can't see the happiness in front of us because we are buried in sadness. We are in charge of our joy in life.  We can choose to blame others for our misfortune or accept responsibility for our our faith, our attitude and our love for others!