Words of Wisdom

God, grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change Courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.

It's called the "Serenity Prayer," and anyone who has ever set foot in a 12-step program such as Alcoholics Anonymous most likely knows it by heart. It hints at the wisdom of the ages, a meditative offering from a holy man from centuries ago.

By most accounts, however, the "Serenity Prayer" is a creation of more modern times: the 20th century. It's one of two immensely popular prayers - "Footprints" being the other - that sound as if they were rooted in the past but are actually products of the 1900s.

Maybe that's why they resonate with so many people in 2008.

Not just poems or prayers, they're spiritual touchstones emblazoned on millions of plaques, posters, key chains and calendars.

Both celebrate courage, acceptance and the omnipresence of God's love. Both have obscure histories.

And both have inspired people for decades - a rarity among inspirational works embraced by popular culture.

They're so popular that during Holy Week this year, Family Christian Bookstore in Colorado Springs sold out of just about everything imprinted with them, said store manager Briana Seamster.

‘Serenity Prayer'

German theologian Reinhold Niebuhr is widely acknowledged as the author of the "Serenity Prayer." He was the pastor of a Detroit church for 13 years before becoming a professor in 1928 at Union Theology Seminary in New York. He wrote the "Serenity Prayer" for a sermon he gave during World War II.

But not everyone believes that Niebuhr is the author. Some scholars say the prayer is part of German folklore, recited during services in Germany for centuries. St. Francis of Assisi, a 12th-century Catholic friar, and Boethius, a sixth-century Christian writer, have also been cited as the author.

Adding to the authorship confusion: One version of the "Serenity Prayer" has 10 extra lines, which, based on cadence and content, seem to have been composed by a different writer.

Authorship aside, there's no doubt that the "Serenity Prayer" has been woven into the fabric of everyday culture. Much of that is due to Alcoholics Anonymous, which adopted the prayer in the 1940s.

"Most people with an addiction find this prayer to be absolutely essential," said Deidra, a 12-step participant who asked that her last name be withheld in accordance with the program's principles. "It helps us stay in the moment. It gives us peace of mind."

Justin Adams, the worship and arts pastor at Austin Bluffs Community Church in Colorado Springs, said that during difficult times in college, he recited the prayer silently during the day.

"I view the prayer as an illustration of good values promoted in the Bible," said Adams, who has the stanza framed in his office.

‘Footprints'

"Footprints," a Christian poem, is a dramatic narrative of a dream in which God's presence in the author's life is symbolized by an extra set of footprints on a sandy shoreline.

The dreamer notices that during the most stressful times in his life, there is only one set of footprints, implying that God has abandoned him. But the Lord responds, "The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you."

Authorship of "Footprints" is, as with the "Serenity Prayer," a topic for debate. Some say Mary Stevenson wrote it in Pennsylvania in 1936, at age 14; she has produced a yellowed copy of the poem that a forensic expert supposedly dated to the 1930s.

Others believe that Canadian Margaret Powers wrote it in 1964, although the poem appears to have been in circulation in the 1940s.

What isn't disputed is that many lives have been touched by the work.

One "Footprints" fan is Bob Langowski, who, in 1967, was a 24-year-old soldier fighting in the Vietnam War. Lonely and tired, the Pueblo resident had lost his will to carry on. Then he walked into a chaplain's office in Saigon, and framed on a wall was "Footprints."

"In the times you feel forsaken, the poem helps you realize the Lord is closer to you at that moment than at any other time," said Langowski, 65.

Colorado Springs resident Alice Graves, 67, was divorced, living with a daughter and sliding into depression when she first read "Footprints."

"It broke me," said Graves, her eyes welling with tears. "When I read that poem, it made me feel good again."

Greg Gemmell, senior pastor at Mesa Hills Bible Church in Colorado Springs, said the poem has lasted because it is timeless.

"There isn't an adult alive who hasn't suffered," Gemmell said. "There is great comfort in knowing that Jesus won't abandon us when we suffer."

ABOUT "FOOTPRINTS"

There are several versions of this poem with slightly different wording, attributed to different authors and going by various titles, including "Footprints in the Sand." But the gist is the same:

"One night I had a dream -
I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord, and
Across the sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand;
One belonged to me, and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of my life flashed before us,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life,
There was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in my life.
This really bothered me, and I questioned the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
You would walk with me all the way;
But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life,
There is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why in times when I needed you the most, you should leave me."
The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child.
I love you, and I would never, never leave you during your times of trial and suffering.
The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you."