Two pints of good craft beer at Lost Borough or Rohrbach Brewing can leave me feeling remarkably serene, and there is nothing wrong with that - as long as someone else is driving me home or I plan on sitting and reading for a good while before doing so myself.
Even a passing serenity like that can be good for the soul and let one get some perspective on life.
Deep and lasting serenity, however, needs a firmer foundation than a couple glasses of beer or wine. It needs something that can stand the tests of life and time. Deep serenity has to be based on deep stuff.
I love the poetry of the Heidelberg Catechism. Written in 1563, it remains a warm-hearted and personal statement of the Christian faith. Question and answer 1 cast the anchor deep.
What is your only comfort in life and in death?
That I am not my own,
but belong--
body and soul,
in life and in death--
to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven:
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.
Because I belong to him,
Christ, by his Holy Spirit,
assures me of eternal life
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.
This I can stand on. The rest is details.
Soli Deo Gloria.