Peace | This Blessed Christmas

'Prayer for Peace' by Valerie Hart

Peace on Earth
This phrase has been repeating in my mind all day. Today, I don't feel peace. This whole year has not felt peaceful. And sometimes I wonder if full peace is possible.

There is a song I heard yesterday for the first time that declared "there is no peace in quiet." It's a song about missing someone and how silence reminds you of absence.

Yesterday, a dear elderly man at my church passed away. A person with a ready smile, supportive word, and sweet humor. He touched so many lives. Our status as a church for the misfits of society comes much from the hospitality and love that oozed from this man and his wife.

People loved him. Because he loved them, and they felt that. We saw Jesus in him and his ways. He was a quiet, lovely person. Peaceful in manner and deed.

His legacy reminds me of a passage in Romans 12 about being a living sacrifice:

Love should be shown without pretending. Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other. Don't hesitate to be enthusiastic -- be on fire in the Spirit as you serve the Lord! Contribute to the needs of God's people, and welcome strangers into your home. Be happy with those who are happy and cry with those who are crying. Consider as everyone as equal, and don't think that you're better than anyone else. Instead, associate with people who have no status. If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people. Don't be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good.

Maybe peace on Earth so far as the whole world standing side by side in harmony isn't possible. Maybe it won't happen. But that doesn't mean I will stop, so far as it depends on me, living peaceably. I am a peacemaker. I am helping to raise up a generation of peacemakers. I go forward in peace because peacemaking is part of my identity in Christ.

If I have anything to do with it, there will be peace.

Beginning this blessed Christmas

On the first day of Advent, I don't feel like being intentional.
I don't feel like looking for the blessing.

I feel like a headache with a twinge of sadness.

And this is all the more reason I'm forcing myself at 10:00pm at night to think about the blessings of the day.

I woke up in a warm bed.
Protected by a sweet dog who loves me.
There was food for me to eat whenever I wanted it.
I had medicine immediately accessible for my pain.
There were many options for entertainment to distract myself from not feeling good.
I had clean water to drink to re-hydrate.
I had hot, running water for my shower.
My parents readily took my calls when I needed a chat.
I had the day off from a job that I love so I did not miss out on work.
I was able to enjoy experimenting with food in the kitchen for supper.
I am able to read for enjoyment.
And now, I'm using the computer I own to shout into the void of the Internet.

And beyond all of these temporary blessings, I have peace with God through Jesus, and I can testify to the hope of glory!

So, yes. This day was not how I had planned to begin my self appointed 'blessed Christmas.'

But it was full of blessings whether I feel like looking for them or not.

Blessed Christmas. Day one.