313 Peace II

A quick count revealed 134 of my 951 posts (so far) have been tagged with “peace”.

Why does peace sometimes seem so elusive?

Because as a human

thoughts run wild

pity parties ensue

hope is hard

resilience is fleeting

the world seems to be spiraling

trust is non-existent

and let’s not talk about politics…

Perhaps some, if not all

those answers are true

and in the not so distant past

thinking about them

would have brought great anxiety

(the opposite of peace)

I would have spent my time

worrying about things that

were out of my control

and

craving

nothing

but

peace.

trying to find peace within myself

didn’t work

searching in

all the wrong places

didn’t either

until

this hard headed

stubborn

childish grown up woman

hit rock bottom

and realized

that she couldn’t do life on her own

and expect to survive.

Below rock bottom

there is a place that

I call “the abyss”

a cavern that is so deep

and narrow

that one cannot see

anything

there is no sound

except thoughts that say life is not worth living

I

was

there

BUT I PAUSED

and in that pause

I heard a still, small voice say

“My peace I give to you… Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

I knew it was part of a verse I had memorized as a child, probably in Sunday School.

It was Jesus’ words after the Last Supper when He fully knew all that was to come but still took time to answer his disciples’ questions, told them to pray in His name, promised the Holy Spirit, and imparted His peace. What a loving thing to do while knowing that a horrible death was just hours away.

Then more encouraging verses and worship songs popped into my head.

By the time this happened I was convinced that either it was truly divine intervention or stark raving crazy (I chose the first scenario).

Long story long – I am still here for reasons unknown to me.

But what I do know is that my full and total

faith

belief

and trust

is in God!

Because

He

is in control

I no longer feel the need to worry

about anything.

When a worry hits my brain the first thing I ask is,

“Can I change the situation?”

If “yes”

I do what I can.

If “no”

I give it to God

in return –

He gives me Peace.

God has bigger shoulders than I –

big enough to take on your worries as well

and unlimited Peace to go around.

May the God of the Universe

Who is in control

Bless you and keep you…

XO Lisa ❤️