Finding Peace

These days I find it difficult to find peace. You look at social media or you listen to the news, and the only things you see or hear are people carping about something. I know that change is a tough cookie to swallow sometimes, but folks "things are a changin." I cannot tell the future, so I don't know if the change is going to be good or not so good. I do know that it is change. And personally, finding peace is a true challenge these days.

We have not been nice to one another. Some have drawn the line in the proverbial sand that if you support one or the other then you can't be my friend. It is troublesome. It is worth noting, as well, that change is inevitable. If you are not changing then you are dead, as a friend of mine used to say. When my friend would say this, I used to think, oh Lord, not again. But you know, my friend is correct. If we try to stand still, the world will just move on without us. It does you know, even when I or anyone is experiencing really difficult times or going through significant loss or other tragedies, the world just goes on. The sun will rise the next day, and the moon will follow. The wind will blow, and the oceans will crash upon the shores. It seems that the world is indifferent to all the human suffering. So, I myself am having difficulty dealing with all the hate mongering by my fellow humans. Is having one's way so very important that one would sever friendships over not having it? I used to be like that not all that long ago. Being right was oh so important. But what I have found in recent times, is that being kind is oh so much more important. Kindness begets kindness. Hate begets hate. (If you don't believe me on the latter, just look at social media and the news.) It also seems that the negative stuff seems to flourish much more quickly than the positive stuff. Perhaps the story of Noah and the Ark might be a good example of what I mean. When God told Noah to gather the animals, He told him to gather seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a mae and its mate ...(Gen. Chapter 7:3, Concordia Self-Study Bible). I guess God knew how His creations would reproduce, so He made certain to even the odds so that both clean and unclean would proliferate. But is seems an apt analogy for how much more quickly hate spreads or bad news or rumors than good news or positive things. Like you I can't control those things, I can only control what I myself do.

In fact, I can't control very much, and I'm learning NOT to control very much. I'm learning to trust in God that all will work out. I'm learning to believe that no matter the chaos around me, I CAN be at peace within. I'm not saying it's easy to get there, but I'm learning that I can be at peace when things seem to be falling apart. There is a power much greater than I, and while I am part of that power, I am not the generator of that power. I have been practicing keeping peace. Peace about others rights to speak out, and peace about my own counsel to be quiet. This place is where I share my thoughts with you. I don't worry about being judged, because I don't judge. I find peace in my heart, that whatever is in my highest and best good will prevail. I find peace in knowing that God protects me and no harm can come to me because I trust in Him. I hope that you too can find that for yourself. It is a powerful thing finding peace within. 

​Sending you all Love, Light, Peace, and Joy!!