i have recently become aware of how incorrectly we use the phrase "peace of mind." usually used as if it's something we can get, something we can attain... "i need to make a little more money and then i will have some peace of mind" or "once the car is fixed and life settles down again i will have some peace of mind." it's an "if/than" formula. if i ____ than i will have peace of mind. funny, because when you really dissect the sentence it says, peace of (the) mind, as if a sense of peace comes over the mind. i think that peace has to come outside of the mind, we are not able to attain peace on our own, it must be given to us.
matthew 11:28
"come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and i will give you rest."
john 14:27
"my peace i leave with you; my peace i give to you. i do not give to you as the world gives, do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
pretty compelling argument that we cannot come to a place of complete transcension from stress and anxiety, where we attain peace on our own... and really when you think about it, the phrase peace of mind seems a little silly, since it's usually our brains that create the stress to begin with!
i got a really bad paper cut at work today. it just happened to be from my letter of resignation... it was a pretty bad cut, and for a second it threw me into a moment of pain, and for some reason, second guessing my decision to leave. tomorrow is my last day working at hennepin county, i start my new job in two and a half weeks. this is a season in life when each moment seems like one of trust, and every second holds a temptation to worry. i am completely aware that, for the most part, i am stumbling through this process of allowing God to give me that peace that i desire so much.
a wise friend of mine told me recently "it is my job as a mother and a homemaker to create peace in my home." now, this is not to say that men cannot bring peace into an atmosphere, but i think that there is something very powerful about the peace of a woman in a home and the incredible effect it has on each person who enters. it's ironic then, that a large majority of the most wonderful women i know are worriers. we fret, we strain, we calculate, we plan, and we worry with the best of 'em. there is a general lack of peace amongst us... and i have to wonder if it isn't a much larger battle that we are fighting. is it more intrinsic for women to worry? i don't know. but if distracted by worry, and due to that, unable to share the peace given to her by God with her home, a household will be affected. a wife, a mother, a sister or a friend - i believe a strong sense of His peace is part of your biblical destiny, and that strength will not only empower others, but it will refresh them as well.
i guess this is all a bit of a tangent, pretty much how my over-worked brain has been processing things lately. i will say this much, a woman without peace is an unfortunate force to be reckoned with, a woman with peace can calm an entire army.
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