Rude Awakenings or Spiritual Awakenings?

• A year ago yesterday, I shared my thoughts on May 2nd's RFT in the EA Today book.  The reading is about  the transformational power of rude awakenings. Here is the quote that still rocks my boat:
  
  "Spiritual awakenings are sometimes disguised as rude awakenings."
  
  This was particularly meaningful for me, as I and my family of three thought we would be living in our current home for a good long time. We were facing a potential move, yet still hoping that my husband's workplace would not close.  

  But budget cuts distinguished my husband's research facility for closure and it has been officially closed since last fall. So I have re-visited that blog entry for perspective today. 

  The time my husband spends at work  now is in readying his office for his professional move, and completing papers for publication. It is a sad time. Yesterday, he took down all the mementos of our son's development, his art, baby photos, the wall "shrines" that made him know the deeper purpose of his work.

  Soon his walls will be completely blank, and in other offices, folks will continue to move out. By late June, the university will take possession of the land and buildings.

  Last May,  people were praying for the miracle of the facility staying open. Our family prayed for something a little different. Our miracle remains to be seen in the flesh. We think it is that we were given time for our son to finish the school year. And that we have found a suitable home for us in the new town. And that my DH's boss and colleagues will be working with have a sense of humor and perspective.

  Here is my prayer, from last year, which adapted the reading to my moving anxieties: 

  "May I and my family find inner peace during this time in which decisions are being made in which we
   have little say. May this "rude" awakening be part of a spiritual unfolding. We have a home in which we feel secure. In this place of safety, may I have the courage to look at my wants (and needs) honestly and to change them if necessary. If I have it in me to write a letter stating why this particular facility should remain open... may I find that power and focus soon. "

  I did write that letter in the form of an article in our local Audubon newsletter. But I also kept  a commitment to find "the peace that passes understanding." Perhaps the unexpected blessing of our rude awakening is that  I am really learning to take the Serenity Prayer to heart.

  "God grant me the serenity... and the courage... to change the things I can."