Time For Serenity

Today I remember Grief. He is a companion that comes and goes, sometimes unannounced and other times I know he is coming.  He has visited again.  And he is visiting others about whom I care deeply.  He has visited a coworker  as she faces legal issues concerning a late life divorce.  He has visited a family who is reeling from the unexpected news that a father and grandfather has broken vows of marital faithfulness. He comes and he goes and we must deal with him.    My journey blogging began when I decided to write about how Grief had visited me and how I had had received help to deal with him.  Please go to the bottom of the Time For Serenity blog to see the earliest posts I wrote. They follow the stages of grief ( shock, denial, anger, depression, etc.) and may be helpful when Grief comes to visit you !! http://acodtimeforserenity.blogspot.com/2012/01/adult-children-of-divorce-and-grief.html Grief is real because loss...

Imagine with me a pond.  The clear , still water reflecting trees above.  A sense of stability and consistency abounds.  Sounds in the distance resound like a whisper. Time stands still .  Plop!  A pebble is dropped off the shore and immediately there is movement. Circles of change begin around the pebble's imprint.  Creases of water move , slowly , but ever increasing and ever expanding.  Soon the outer ripples lap against the shore with a soft resonance.  Fish have been disturbed, a bird has fluttered away, and people have watched with eyes mesmerized as the ripple effect has once again captured those who are near. Imagining that scene reminds me that you and I are the pebbles, in the ponds of our relationships and what we do will be felt by others.  The pond is made up of close family, extended family , friends, coworkers , community and society as a whole.   Our pebble's effect can be positive or negative...

Matthew 6:9-13 is one record of the Lord's Prayer.  Jesus prayed!!  If he needed to, so do I!!   After teaching about rules ( Matthew 5 and 6) , murder, adultery, divorce, vengeance, enemies, giving to the needy ( and who says Jesus isn't relevant?) , etc.....he comes to the topic of prayer. He tells his disciples ( and us) HOW to pray.  The Lord's Prayer gives us a format. God knows I have spent much time thinking and praying about rules, adultery, divorce, vengeance, etc, and MORE since my parent's late-life divorce.  Here's my attempt to use Jesus' format to give an example of what conversation between us ACODs and God may look like.  May it get all of us started talking to God!!! Our Father in Heaven        Some of us have lost relationship with our earthly fathers or mothers and we still need what a father or mother can give Hallowed Be Your Name    Who you are is holy, set apar...

  I have been an ACOD for almost 5 years. I only began writing a little over a year ago. In the past , my mind was racing, everything I was thinking about , processing, having to physically deal with, and practically do after the fall-out of my parent's marriage came fast and furious.   Now, I still have a lot to process and new information from the past, or new situations of today come into my world, but the daily mental and emotional and physical toll has become lessened with time and my ACOD thoughts do not consume me, and life is at a more normal pace again.   My writing at first mimicked what I describe above.  Words came, thoughts came, things counselors said were fresh and I wrote. You read . And I am grateful for what it has meant.   Now , my thoughts come less often and less intense. I am often not sure what other ACODS want to hear.  At first I was hoping for more comments and interaction, but I realize this is a personal , pain...

I recently saw that there is a similar name as Serenity time that has a Facebook account. It is not me.

"...we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance,  perseverance character, and character ,hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts ...."     Paul's letter to the Romans Chapter 5 Verses 3b -5a

WELCOME:   Creating a place for Adult Children of Divorce of every age to come for a bit of hope and help has been a desire of mine as I have navigated the rough waters of finding my place within the aftermath of my parent's divorce.  The counsel I have found and from which I have benefited in the past few years is what I will share with all of us in an effort to encourage us that we are not alone and there is hope. May this place be where we can all go to move us toward times of serenity and peace within our circumstances.   ABOUT ME:   I am a 50 some-thing adult child of divorce who has been married more than 30 years myself. My parents divorced after years of what I thought was family closeness and no sign of what was coming. Within the past few years I have received wonderful help and counsel and I want to share with others who are going through a parent's divorce. You may be 20 or 50 and experiencing this change in your life and I hope we can help each...