I was driving home from work after a long day of dealing with corporate visitors, straightening clothes, and absolute boredom! I was exhausted and my mind was heavy with the many aspects of life that are difficult, troubling, and heavy on my heart. Thought after thought rolled through my mind and then I finally rested on the relieving reality that in merely a week I will be with my friends spending a week in Savannah, GA! I was filled with excitement over the soon coming vacation!
As I was thinking about the trip, my thoughts turned to my friends' newly born son, Edmund and I thought of the crying baby and, for some reason, I welcomed the idea of being kept awake because of a little crying baby. Weird right?! As I daydreamed of this possible event, I imagined that I was able to calm the weeping lad and that was the point of contact for the Spirit to plant a renewed desire in my heart! Peace: to have peace, to give peace, and to be made into peace!
My mind was immediately filled with the words of St. Francis and longed to be a wellspring of peace.
The world isn't full of peace these days. we are surrounded with discussions of war and revolt. Chaos fills our work spaces, family encounters, and our troubled psyches. Something that we lack, and severely need, is peace. In Christ, I should be striving to be an instrument of peace in the world. We are called to be peacemakers; centers of calm in the storms of life. It is sad that, even though we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we are not often very peace-giving or peace-making.
I recognize the horrible truth that I myself am often a bringer of chaos; I often let my mind fall into chaos in the midst of undesirable situations rather than yielding myself to the Spirit's work in me. Instead of disciplining my mind I let my heart grow impatient and even cold towards others, rather than stepping in with the strength and wisdom of God to put an end to the wars raging around me. This is not a holy way to live and is not honoring to God.
Sin dwells within our hearts. It is the cancer of our souls; the broken aspect of our humanity. It is my sin that separates me from God and it is my tainted human nature that stirs my heart to malice, selfishness, and unholistic living and thinking. I am on this journey of redemption and healing, but I have a long way to go before I reach before I get to where God really wants me to be. He is walking with me through this and as He and I engage in this divine romance I am being made more and more like Him. That is what I experienced today in my car. A moment of with God in which He spoke softly to me and told me that He wanted me to be something different; revealing a part of me that has all but evaded my sight. In the midst of this revelation all I could say was, "Lord, make me peace..."
In this Lenten season, let us seek to be men and women of peace. Let us become instruments of peace for the world, and let's start where it often the most difficult-right in our own homes and relationships.
Grace and Peace,
Stephen
As I was thinking about the trip, my thoughts turned to my friends' newly born son, Edmund and I thought of the crying baby and, for some reason, I welcomed the idea of being kept awake because of a little crying baby. Weird right?! As I daydreamed of this possible event, I imagined that I was able to calm the weeping lad and that was the point of contact for the Spirit to plant a renewed desire in my heart! Peace: to have peace, to give peace, and to be made into peace!
My mind was immediately filled with the words of St. Francis and longed to be a wellspring of peace.
The world isn't full of peace these days. we are surrounded with discussions of war and revolt. Chaos fills our work spaces, family encounters, and our troubled psyches. Something that we lack, and severely need, is peace. In Christ, I should be striving to be an instrument of peace in the world. We are called to be peacemakers; centers of calm in the storms of life. It is sad that, even though we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we are not often very peace-giving or peace-making.
I recognize the horrible truth that I myself am often a bringer of chaos; I often let my mind fall into chaos in the midst of undesirable situations rather than yielding myself to the Spirit's work in me. Instead of disciplining my mind I let my heart grow impatient and even cold towards others, rather than stepping in with the strength and wisdom of God to put an end to the wars raging around me. This is not a holy way to live and is not honoring to God.
Sin dwells within our hearts. It is the cancer of our souls; the broken aspect of our humanity. It is my sin that separates me from God and it is my tainted human nature that stirs my heart to malice, selfishness, and unholistic living and thinking. I am on this journey of redemption and healing, but I have a long way to go before I reach before I get to where God really wants me to be. He is walking with me through this and as He and I engage in this divine romance I am being made more and more like Him. That is what I experienced today in my car. A moment of with God in which He spoke softly to me and told me that He wanted me to be something different; revealing a part of me that has all but evaded my sight. In the midst of this revelation all I could say was, "Lord, make me peace..."
Grace and Peace,
Stephen
Good post Stephen. Your meditation makes me think of a poem on peace by Madeleine L'Engle. You might enjoy this: http://kingdompoets.blogspot.com/2010/09/madeleine-lengle.html
ReplyDeleteThanks Jack :) I read the poem, and it was amazing! Thanks for sharing!
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