“I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”                                                                 John 14:27 (NLT)

It’s 5:30 a.m. and there is a calm throughout my home. Only the sound of the air blowing through the vent penetrates the silence around me. Peace. This is peace to me – the quiet time I enjoy before diving head first into the deep end of my day.

It’s 1:00 p.m. on a holiday and looking around the table at an extended family gathering I scan the smiling faces of the ones I dearly love. I enjoy their laughter and chatter as we set the world aside to focus on those closest to us. Peace. This is peace to me – protected time together, knowing those I love are safe and happy.

It’s 9 p.m. on a lazy weekend and after tackling a few small projects my husband and I quietly read and relax in each other’s company. Peace. This is peace to me – the comfort of nothing special … simplicity. 

Peaceful moments, large and small, dot the landscape of our lives much like the valleys scattered through the mountains. I try to remind myself to enjoy those moments, to take in that tranquility of mind and heart knowing those feelings are fleeting – temporary. 

That serenity is soon disturbed by tumultuous times, large and small. An angry email, a frantic phone call, a crying child, a sick relative, or a troubled friend enter our lives quickly and unexpectedly disturbing our peace, throwing us for a loop, providing an obstacle in our day. 

Why does this happen? Why do even the smallest disruptions throw us off kilter? 

The answer is simple. The peace we create for ourselves is circumstantial. 

We create our own peace by removing ourselves from the chaos of life, by creating Norman Rockwell picture perfect moments in our homes, by carving out quiet time. Although these moments are nice and needed, they don’t last. We leave home and return to work. We take our holiday snapshot and pick up our individual burdens at the door.  We enter society where our lives are intertwined with others we cannot control.  

Our homemade harmony spoils very quickly; however, there is a long lasting peace that is available to each one of us. We can take comfort knowing the peace given by Christ. He promises “the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 4:7)

This genuine peace of heart and mind allows us to remain calm in disturbing moments. It is this peace that makes it possible for us to look at a situation and know this too shall pass. This peace will not remove the pain and heartache we will most definitely encounter but it does give us the unexplainable, calm assurance that God is with us and He will walk us through that pain.

God gives us everything the world cannot give. 

Accept this gift of peace.

Replace your self- made substitute with the very real peace that comes from God which gives us hope for a better tomorrow.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”                                 Romans 15:13 (NIV)