Peace...

Today, Christmas Eve, my children, the grandson, and mother-in-law will gather. We will laugh, eat, play games, and talk. We try to get together about once every couple of months throughout the year. Yes, this sounds bad that the family cannot get together more often, but not everyone lives close and it is harder with all the varying work schedules. So, we make the best of the time we are given. Today, I know there will be times when everyone is talking, or no one, just small conversations, and comfortable silence. There will be a time, as there always is, when I look around at the conversations taking place and Peace is present. It happens every time.

In the morning, we have a routine as many people do. We get up. He makes coffee. I start to get ready. The news is on in the background. My husband loves to watch these little videos of couples. One husband and wife are truckers and another couple are older and a lot like my husband and I. My husband will watch them, laugh, insist that I watch, then laugh again. He says we need to start making videos. To that, I laugh! He would be the funny one. I would be the serious one, of course. What does this have to do with Peace? In my head, this is Peace. It is my Comfort and Joy on Earth. Peace that I know God provided for me.

My husband and I hiked avidly for many years. Due to a few illnesses over the past couple of years we have been unable to get back on the mountains. My husband and I are working our way back to the point where we can get back on the trails. We don't hike during the summer. No snakes for us. We hike in the cold - the colder the better, 10 degrees and we are happy. The early crisp morning, the quiet mountains, silence, and the Peace.

Growing up, I didn't realize that Peace could come amid trials, bad things that happen, ugly people, and hurt. I didn't understand that peace could be in crazy videos, quiet mornings, or watching others. As I've grown to know God, I can see his Peace in all situations on the mountain, in the morning with my husband, when our family gathers, and in sickness. John 14:27 says "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." Being afraid was a part of my life. It is impossible to see God's Peace when you are filled with fear. It is impossible to laugh at the little things and see God in all things when you are afraid.

Philippians 4:7 says "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." When Christ was born, He came to bring Peace. He is the Prince of Peace, not the Prince of Fear. Sometimes in situations, it is hard to understand that God is there. He is our Peace.

Sometimes I feel like my words are platitudes and people read or listen, and think, "She has no idea what I'm going through." But, and there is always a but, those who understand the most are those who have been through the fire and understand the Peace that surpasses all understanding. The Peace that is Christ our Lord. Today, I pray that God's Peace settles on your heart, that you understand that He has come for you, and that you smile.