The roads are hazardous resembling a speedway.
The parking lots are full.
The stores are crowded – people going every which way in the aisles.
Those last few gifts elude the mind … what to get for dear Aunt Jane?
There’s the Christmas baking, the wrapping, the last of the decorating …
The light strings are tangled … and the bulbs won’t all light!
And the carolers sing:
Silent night, Holy night
All is calm, all is bright
The children are squabbling.
Guests are coming and the guest room isn’t ready.
The in-laws scheduled the family party on the same day as your girlfriend’s shindig.
Tension between family members is threatening to explode during Christmas dinner!
And the choir sings …
Peace on earth, good will to men!
The babe of Bethlehem comes with many titles … the Prince of Peace may be my favorite!
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace
(Isaiah 9:6b)
But we know that peace can be elusive even when celebrating the Prince of Peace!
Peace is the centre of the atom, the core
Of quiet within the storm. It is not
A cessation, a nothingness; more
The lightning in reverse is what
Reveals the light. It is the law that binds
The atom’s structure, ordering the dance
Of proton and electron, and that finds
Within the midst of flame and wind, the glance
In the still eye of the vast hurricane.
Peace is not placidity; peace is
The power to endure the megatron of pain
With joy, the silent thunder of release,
The ordering of Love. Peace is the atom’s start,
The primal image. God within the heart.
~Madeleine L’Engle
Take a few minutes with these verses … hide them in your heart …
The Lord bless you
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.
(Numbers 6:24 – 26)
You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.
(Isaiah 26:3, 4)
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me,
or seen in me—put it into practice.
And the God of peace will be with you.
(Phillippians 4:5-7, 9)
Now may the Lord of peace himself give me … you, too …
peace at all times and in every way …
the dance of proton and electron …
God within the heart!
