Obedience to Circumstance

Some of us are born rebels. Ok, forget the “some people”. I was born a rebel. Not a Jimmy Dean kind of rebel, mind you, just an ordinary fallen human critter kind. I want stuff. I want stuff my way, and if things don’t work out, I get anxious and start trying to control the situation. I start grumbling, holding back, and - what else can you call it? - rebelling. I’m going to call this rebellion against circumstance. We’re not talking extreme things here. I don’t want to murder anybody. I don’t feel bummed out because I “can’t”. I don’t desire great gobs of money or power or fame. I don’t need that kind of control. I just don’t want to get up sometimes in the morning. I don’t want to do the dishes or clean toilets or have to get after my kids when they’re being obnoxious or rowdy or slackards (it’s so much easier to ignore them, retreat into my computer, and write a blog entry). This is rebellion against circumstance.

When all the little annoyances and duties of life — the little ones especially — come knocking at my door, I want to learn to be obedient to them. Instead of rebelling and wishing the world were some other way, ignoring it, trying to control it, trying to remake it into “my” world, I want to learn to take each and every moment as it comes and meet it gracefully, with peace, with gentle acceptance.

Of course I’m not saying I will just doormat myself and go blithely along with any kind of (bad) situation. If I see a murderer on the run from his crime, I’ll not gracefully and peacefully hand him his car keys. If my kids act up, I’m not going to be a pushover and let them get away with it. I won’t give them inches so they can take miles next time. If I see injustice, cruelty, or falsity, I won’t whitewash them and call them something other than what they are. But I am determined to be more attentive, to cultivate compassion, to pray through circumstances rather than rebel against them. I will try hard not to grumble while rolling out of bed in the morning, cleaning toilets, doing dishes, or wiping up cat barf. I will make a start with the small things…

O Lord, grant that I may greet the coming day in peace. Help me in all things to rely upon Thy holy will. In each hour of the day reveal Thy will to me. Bless my dealings with all who surround me. Teach me to treat all that comes to me throughout the day with peace of soul, and with the firm conviction that Thy will governs all. In all my deeds and words guide my thoughts and feelings. In unforeseen events, let me not forget that all are sent by Thee. Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others. Give me the strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day with all that it shall bring. Direct my will. Teach me to pray. Pray Thou Thyself in me. Amen.

~ Morning Prayer of Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow