Peace. My Auntie Bobbee once gave me a small candle with the word peace on it, and told me she prayed I would find it and never let it go. And I hope that I can relay that message to you in my post today. I'm not here to talk about politics, but I am here to share a story with you. The story of how I am finding my peace. (note the present progressive form of that sentence). Just for a moment, sit back and close your eyes...just kidding don't close your eyes, how will you know what to do next silly? Dive into your memory and remember the most beautifully perfect day that you have ever had. Got it in your mind? Feel it in your heart? Now hold on to that for just a minute...feel that? That's peace. It's neat to me how as I've gotten older, my definition of peace has changed. When I was younger I thought it was always having a good day and lying down on my pillow at night with a smile on my face. (come on you know you've thought it too, or maybe I watch too many movies...the jury's still out.)
As I've grown into the adult me and have experienced life outside of my comfort zone; I have found what peace really means and feels like and I've been on a constant quest for it since. Peace is in the little moments that we all take for granted (yes me too, that's why I said note the present progressive form). The every day things we see as mundane, the trials and hard times we suffer through, the injustices we have to endure, they all have a purpose. I remember the first time I ever felt peace. And with it, came all the answers that I sought. Great thing about it? I never had to do a thing. God did it all for me. I'm serious. Ask me about it, I'll tell you, it's pretty amazing. Here's a short story I can tell you about another time I felt peace....
One night I was trying to sleep and I couldn't because of my raging anxiety. So I prayed for God to help me sleep (it works better than zquil, you should try it) I told him all of my anxieties and in the middle of it he said, "be anxious for nothing" and let me tell you it calmed my anxiety right quick in a hurry and I fell asleep in no time at all! I looked it up in my bible the next morning and highlighted that sucker a million times with the bright yellow highlighter (because lets face it, that one really gets your attention) and then outlined it with a pen. God spoke to me and I'll never forget it. (by the way it's Philippians 4:6 if anyone was wondering). To go about life and be anxious is like saying God is a liar. That his word, the Bible, is nothing but a book of fairytales and rubbish. But if you know the God I know, then you'll know that every word in that book is truer than true and I bet you could tell me several stories of how God has shown you how real he is through the Bible applied in your own life. (by the way, I would LOVE to hear any stories you wish to share with me).
Wanna know a secret? It wasn't until I found myself in the same miserable situations time after time, that I realized God was still growing me (or trying because I'm what the Mexicans call terca, I know because that's what Jose calls me). I've been in -and will have to go through- those situations over and over until I found peace in them. Then and only then, did God give me the answers I so impatiently sought. And you know what, I could have saved myself a whole lot of trouble if I just trusted God in the first place. But I also would not have grown as a person if I had not gone through it as many times as I had.
I'm starting to learn that there really IS a purpose in everything I do. Whether I trust God the first time or I have to go through it a time or two to really grasp it, the end result is the same. To find peace. Wanna really get to the heart of God, it's in the peace.
So turn off your t.v., put down the magazine with the photo shopped celebrity on the cover, unplug from social media. (as I type this on a website and post it to social media, the irony is not lost on me believe me you). Go outside, sit and listen to the birds talk to each other, pick out shapes in the clouds, watch the sunset in your favorite spot in your hometown ( we all have one), let the day go as it may. Let go of what you can't control, God's will is going to happen regardless of if you fret about it and the million possibilities that could but probably will never happen. Peace is but a small opportunity away. You just have to quiet your soul and let God show you around.
Peace. Never. Stop. Searching.
Here are a few pictures below of what peace looks like to me.
