May 26, 2021
I have a unique opportunity tomorrow - I have been invited to speak about peace to a group called Early Risers. Begun forty years ago, this group meets the Thursdays in May, at the early hour of 7:00 am, to hear from local folks and raise money for a different ministry in town. This year’s recipient is Peace Place, hence the subject matter.
I am not certain how I was chosen as a speaker, but it is an honor. Now I am wondering, what can be said about peace? Yes, Jesus promises to give us peace - just before his crucifixion - at a time when he must have been feeling anything but peaceful, not to mention how his disciples had to be feeling, but thinking about speaking of peace made me feel a little less than peaceful.
Then a memory came to me from when I worked in an insurance office. I was miserable and complained a lot. Every day I talked to my mother and told her again how unhappy I was, how much I hated it. I was filled with anything but peace, until one day she asked if I realized what the common denominator was in my complaints. I said, of course, it’s that office. She said, no, it is you. While I was mad at first, I realized she was right. I was the one mostly contributing to my misery and blocking the peace I was desperately praying to receive. The peace God wanted to give me. The peace that could come as I believed and trusted God loves me.
And the rest has come to me. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow.
Blessings. And prayers.
