Holding Tight to Peace

You have to hold tight to peace to keep peace leading the way.

The peace and calm of the day covered me. I watched the sun climb up through the trees, its rays dancing among the leaves. The cicadas sang their songs, accompanied by the tunes of the early morning birds.

As the sun continued its climb, a butterfly found comfort in the warmth of its light. It sat in that warmth, fanning out its colorful wings for a moment – and then it fluttered off into the day.

I sipped my coffee, rocked contently in my chair, and relaxed in the calm of the morning.

And then life happened. The kids woke up. The house erupted. The phone rang. My day officially started.

It would have been easy to say that my peace was shattered. Anyone, standing there in that moment, would likely say that my peace had been scattered around the floor like spilled cereal I now had to sweep up.

My peace was not held by those quiet moments of the breaking morning. My peace could not be destroyed by the craziness of the waking house. My peace comes from a deeper place that no amount of spilled cereal or noise will disturb – IF I choose to hold tight to that peace.

Learning to Hold Tight to Peace

• Do all that you can do. If you believe that you have done all that – Do all that you can do. If you believe that you have done all that you can do then you will be okay with what is not done. Because all you can do is all you can do. If you think you can do more, then make a way to do that more. Remember that when you have done all, STAND.
• Realize that you will never do it ALL. There are some things you will be unable to do. There will be times when you are committed to do other things instead. Some things just never show up on your radar for a variety of reasons. Do what you are supposed to do and practice saying “no” to the rest of it. Let the rest of the world be responsible for its part – even if the rest of the world is not doing their part.
• Find little pieces of joy to carry you through. The little joys add up to amazing strength. Find joy in the butterflies. Find joy in the laughter of children. Find joy in the song of the cicada. Add up your joys to create a fortress of strength.
• Return to your fortress on a regular basis. Life is coming – expect it. Having that fortress to help you in the long sieges or just for temporary relief will help you to refresh and be sustained for the fight against that oncoming life.

Peace is a weapon against the chaos of the world. Like any weapon, you have to learn how to weld it. Little joys, letting go, and refocusing will let you create a fortress powerful in peace.