Welcome back to Fruitful Thursday (a day late). A new month means a new fruit so all October long I'm exploring PEACE. Can you hear the hallelujah choir? Couldn't we all use some more peace? Just saying the word causes me to take a big breath and feel more calm. *sigh*As I usually do for fruitful Thursday, I went to the Bible to see what God has to stay about Peace. I was looking for how to get it, where it comes from, how to keep it, peace that surpasses understanding. But the verse that caught my attention was 2 Kings 9:17 which says:
When the lookout standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu's troops approaching, he called out, "I see some troops coming." "Get a horseman," Joram ordered. "Send him to meet them and ask, 'Do you come in peace?' "
Do you come in peace?
Do I come in peace?
How often has my day been intruded upon by some stranger in a foul mood, spreading the misery around? How often have I been that miserable stranger?
So often we get caught up in the day to day, stressing over DETAILS, working ourselves up so that we overlook what's really important. Hint: it's not the schedule, a clean house or even a shower.
We need to guard our homes and our lives so that this WORLD doesn't intrude. We need to be able to walk in God's peace to be able to share God's love. How we that may be different for everyone. It may even change over the years.
For instance, when Fox was young and my only child, we were always busy. Our schedule was packed. We were trapped in an endless cycle of baseball, soccer, baseball, swimming lessons, guitar lessons, co-op, family commitments and more! We were stressed beyond belief and our attitudes showed it! We finally had enough and cut out everything except for co-op for several years.
It worked for us.
But now that I have four kids here, three active teens and one energizer bunny toddler, less isn't working so well for us anymore. We now need more outlets to get the energy out and keep the kids entertained. So we're working on more adding more to our schedule to reclaim the peace.
How about you? How do you reclaim the peace? How has what peace looks like to you changed through the years?
Peace comes from knowing that you are obeying God, when you have a really hard decision to make, and you make the right choice.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about something very similar to this just this morning. I was at the mall with my kids, and while my teenager was trying on clothes in a very trendy type store, my 2 smallest babes were running around, not causing any trouble, but being a bit of a nuisance.
ReplyDeleteThe clerk came over, passed me, as said to them, " this is not a gymnasium! Either calm down and sit still or get your asses out of here. "
I should have handled it faaaar differently than I did, but I was so startled and angry that I lashed out at the clerk and swore pretty loudly. His manager came over, dismissed him, apologized to me and we left.
All my kids are going to remember is the mean man that yelled at them and how mommy saved the day with curse words.
I fumed all day long and brought the anger home with me. I was the one inviting anger into my home because it was in me!
This post really gets to the heart of things doesn't it? I often find that our most chaotic external moments are brought on by our interior chaos. Sometimes I have to remind myself 'not to sweat the small stuff', live in the moment and be mindful of the messages I am sending my children. I am not always successful (much like Lesley's story) but each day is a new beginning so I try to release the guilt and start over. It's hard not to get lost in the anxieties of life that bring on stressful reactions but hopefully there are more postive peaceful memories than crazy chaotic ones. A mom can hope right? I find peace in gratitude. When things get too much I start trying to make a mental list of what I'm grateful for and then I pray to give thanks for everything in my list. When I reach the end (if I was able to get to the end) I feel a much greater sense of peace.
ReplyDeleteGod's peace is so much more than any wordly peace! I pray for it to spread within our home.
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