Peace

"He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." Ephesian 2:17-18

I love that word. Peace. It's so soothing. It settles the heart, it settles the soul. It makes your eyes close, your heart rejoice and your mind say 'yes'.
Those moments are really rare, aren't they?

With all of the awful things going on in the world, with all of the awful things going on in your world, in your home ... peace is almost elusive.  People ask, all the time, 'why'? 'Why did this happen, how could this happen, how am I supposed to heal after this?'

I am always reminded of the peace that Jesus wants for us. He didn't come to bring peace to our world, to end our wars, to stop the destruction and aimless killings that happen so frequently.  He came to bring peace to our souls. Our own personal peace.

The promise that regardless of what happens, He is in control and He has us in His big strong hands. He is the solid boat riding through reckless waves. He is the exit sign at the end of a long, dark hallway. He is eagle we rise up on when we are weak and weary.

Isn't it funny how hard it is to just let go? To just let go of all the craziness and allow God to just be in control? To let Him work it all out for His greater good?

I don't think there is even a single day where I think "wow, my life is boring."  My life is complicated all the time and the weirdest things happen all the time. Right now, our son just had his second concussion in 8 months. We put in an offer on a home that I was so sure it was to be ours, and they said no. I've had to give a five minute devotion/sermon to a seniors' home and I had no idea what to talk about.  I'm not sleeping well, I'm worried I may have to change my medication, I've been to too many doctors about my knee and there are no answers.

Oh, but the peace that comes with it. To just close my eyes again when the nightmares awaken me at 2am, and to just picture God and my hands clinging to His big strong arm and He reminds me over and over 'I've got you love'.  And my tired mind wants to run, it wants to just escape reality and run away and sometimes it just wants to give up and it begs for Redemption day.  But He holds me even tighter and out loud in the dark I just whisper, 'peace, Jesus, peace. Peace, Jesus, peace'.  And sometimes I am lifted high and can't stop smiling. And sometimes I feel like I haven't climbed onto the eagle's back yet. And sometimes I just fall asleep to wake up again an hour later.
But.
I will not forget His promise. I will not forget that fact is fact, regardless of how I feel. I will not forget that I am His child and I am precious to Him. I will not forget that this all temporary and soon, soon, my sweet girl, that I will get to go home.
And my eyes fill with tears, and my heart fills with His promise as I whisper the words, 'peace'.

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulatoin, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Jenn Kelly is an author who for some reason can't make this writing go beside her picture below. She has spent the past two days trying to make her webpage work to her advantage. It isn't listening very well.  She is still trying to finish her 'high-concept, YA raw book'. But instead she's gardening because flowers are pretty. You can try and find her at www.jennkelly.com but the website might be crazy because she can't fix it.