Places of Peace
Story 65

I have a few places I go for peace. I’m lucky enough to live in an area where I can step onto my back deck and experience the sights and sounds of nature. If weather gets in the way, there’s one particular window I go to for a similar view. What is it about these moments that bring a feeling of peace?

Peace comes from more than beautiful views. It comes from loving relationships. It settles in after carefully considered and prayed-over decisions. It stems from gratefulness that allows you to stop striving for more. It’s a natural result of trust in God when you lose control of something important.

As I think more about peace, I realize it’s deeper and more complicated than a feeling of calm. That’s because it’s relational. And in this world, it’s very, very fragile.

So what does peace look like? Smiles. Laughter. Stillness. Steadiness. Comfortable silence.

This is a far cry from what the world looks like in this moment. Bad news that can fill your entire day. Ugly disagreements in places of community, our schools, and our churches. Discord in our own households. Trust shattered by broken agreements.

Where do we go from here? Maybe first, we find peace. Then, we make it. Some of us find it in the embrace of a loved one. Others find it in their morning walk. Many find peace in faith practices. Still others find it on the greens of the golf course. Perhaps it’s in the pages of your favorite book.

Peace may seem illusive right now, but let’s seek it. Make it. Share it. Declare it. Because we need it more than ever before.

“For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
-Isaiah 9:6, ESV