peace...blessed peace!

 
 
Here it is, December 10th....two weeks from Christmas. This is NOT a reminder that you have to hit every mall within a fifty mile radius to buy everything in sight! Rather, this is an invitation to peace.
Peace.
A word that connotes quiet, a semblance of order, control. We all crave peace. Christmas cards sing its praises. Yet I read the newspapers and watch what goes on around me...it doesn't seem that so many folks want peace. Radical extremists in the mid-east would have us believe they won't be happy unless the whole human race is annihilated. Does it seem that way to you?

Relationships need peace to work, yet I see so much dysfunction. It seems each person wants to 'one up' the other. "I'm right and you're wrong!" What would happen if you gave in a little and just let someone else show you that maybe...they are right?

At this time of the year, I think of peace filled winter days when it is so quiet, you can hear snowflakes fall. Not even a bird can be heard on a cold snowy day. There really is no sound of wind because there are no leaves for the sound to flow through. As the song goes, "all is calm, all is quiet." I am reminded of the opening to the Mary Tyler Moore show, where she is seen walking along a lakeshore trail in winter; so calm, confident and serene. 

I know peace can happen. I think back to Martin Luther King, Jr, who enraptured so many to believe in peace...he epitomized peace. And when he was struck down, the world lost an example that we should emulate. For peace to happen, there needs to be surrender. There needs to be someone who can say, "yes, I can meet you and your beliefs halfway and live with them." We don't always have to be 100% right. As my husband said to me yesterday, " I know that you have your illogical moments. I just learn to live with them!" As I do his! and we are so very happy! Really! Because in the grand scheme of things, look at how lonely our world is becoming because we each feel that we are right and everyone else is wrong! We are becoming isolated....lost...even as we sit and stare at our smartphones, iPods, iPads, laptops and have every social media outlet available to us...we are lonely.


Surrender is the heartbeat of peace. The choice to surrender initiates the process of allowing peace to rule.
in every situation stands ready to make the calls that will lead us to rest in and trust Him, but first comes the choice to “let” peace rule. The work of peace is always unleashed by our choice, our invitation. How would you define the concept of peace in your life? Is your heart and mind filled with chaos and stress instead of peace? Identify the main source of stress in your life and make any adjustments necessary to bring that area under control.

 Let’s Pray
Father, I praise You today because You are my peace. Your presence in my life ushers in true peace and lets my soul rest. Forgive me when I cram my days with urgent things that are not always the important things.  Help me discern Your plan for my life each day so that I can walk in peace.
In Jesus’ name, amen.