Gift of Peace

 

As I mature (notice how I did not say get older!), I have come to realize there are many things that I seem to need in my daily life.  I need happiness and kindness, given and received.  I need a good laugh – the belly laugh kind.  I need a memory that makes me smile.  I need time to reflect.  Yet, what I seem to need most is peace.  I am not sure why peace seems to be so especially important to me. 

Maybe peace means so much to me because there were times in my life when I did not have peace – and those were hard times.  Times when cancer was in my body.  Times when my first marriage was falling apart.  Times when my dad’s health was slipping in front of us.  Those are life-changing hard times.  Yet, there were times in my daily life where peace seemed to be aloof.  Challenging days at work.  Difficult days with the children.  Days when nothing seemed to go right.  I am sure all of you have experienced those days as well – days of unsettling circumstances that rid you of hope and joy and fill you with anxiousness and worry.

In walks a gift of Jesus – peace.  For me, Jesus’ peace is one of His greatest gifts and one that I hold so deep in my heart.  I have learned (in my maturity), that relying on Jesus versus relying on myself can give me the peace I need.    It is not easy to let Jesus have reign in my life.   I am one of those “controlling” people.  I like to be in control of my path and my situations.  Yet, that is not Jesus’ plan for my life.  When I give the reigns to Jesus, I feel that peace I so much long for wash over my mind and my heart.  It is as if Jesus is saying, “There you go – I knew you would let me do the driving”! 

Those times in my life when peace has rushed over me have been powerful moments – transformational moments.  I may have lost my own control, but God had it all under control.  Now, daily, I look for that peace in the little things.  I could be sipping on a wonderful cup of coffee and I take a deep breath and thank Him for another day.  It is when I see a beautiful sunrise and realize only God’s hand can produce such beauty.  It is when I go to Jesus in prayer of a frustration, and I know He will guide me through it.  The gift of peace happens “…at all times and in every way.”  It is up to us to be washed over with Jesus’ peace and hold it close to us.  I ask us all to take the time and experience Jesus’ gift of peace.  It is with us; we just need to let ourselves experience it.

Dearest Jesus, your peace, the peace that passes all understanding, is a wonderful gift you have given to each of us.  Help us to take the time to come to you in prayer and ask you to help us feel and see this wonderful peace.  In tough times and every-day life, may we experience your peace when we give ourselves to you.  Amen.