By Harold Keller

One of my favorite Christian songs is “I Surrender All.” The message is about surrendering all your problems to Jesus. I’m sure most of you have heard the saying: “God won’t send you more than you can handle.”

It’s been over 30 years ago, but I remember the incident like it was yesterday. I had recently gotten into a 12-step program and was jogging early one morning on the levee in Reserve. I was really being tormented with my problems and kept reciting the Serenity Prayer: “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.”

I repeated the prayer over and over to no avail. In my frustration, I thought about what many people had told me – “God won’t send you more than you can handle.” It was then, in a split second, that I confronted God on the levee and said, “Let me tell you something. All that talk about not sending me more than I can handle is a bunch of bull. You’re overestimating me. Get off my back! I’m tired.” (At the time, I wasn’t a Christian.)

With that, I ended my jog in front of St. Peter Church in Reserve. I ran into the church, knelt down, and cried.

Looking back to that time, I believe that was my first attempt to surrendering all of my problems to God.

Over the years, I’ve become a firm believer that God doesn’t send you more that you can handle, but you need His help.

Today, the Serenity Prayer is a big part of my life. It is so simple; it confuses most people. I’m getting comfortable with accepting the things I cannot change and gaining the confidence and courage to change the things I can. The key to a peaceful life is the wisdom from God to know the difference.

One of my daily prayers is thanking God for all my trials, but more importantly, that He saw me victorious over all of them.

If you have any questions, or comments, please write to Get High on Life, P.O. Drawer U, Reserve, LA 70084, cal (985) 652-8477, or e-mail: hkeller@comcast.net.