PEACE

I wrote an email to someone in my church the other day and described my life as busy but restful. I probably should have said...peaceful. Peace...it is an interesting thing...feeling...experience...gift. I clearly remember the first time I really felt a tangible (could almost grab a hold of it peace). I was in college....and I was in Honduras. I was on my first mission trip and as I walked in the dark in a poor village surrounded by people who were infected with all sorts of tropical diseases....I felt peace.

I would probably say that my favorite verse is "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests known to God and the peace that surpasses understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:6-7

I used to live in anxiety....always going from drama to drama. I had a friend who would tell me that she had a peace about something when she was making a decision...and I would say you had a "piece" of what? I totally didn't understand peace, because I had never truly experienced it. That was when I started to memorize this verse and I would repeat everytime I felt anxious....in fact, I still do. When things seem to big...when they get bigger than my God....I know that I need to back up and "Be anxious for nothing".

Peace is the place that I live these days. I am very busy with "work" right now. There are so many tasks to do, people to meet with, things to develop, emails to answer, goals to work towards, spreadsheets to fix....but in the midst of the busyness I know that God is for me.

I stop and I pray and I thank Him for the opportunity to be living in the center of His will. I thank Him for those who make it possible for me to be here...I thank Him for Thrive Africa, for Niel and Alece, for all of my new friends (especially my roomies). I thank Him for the quiet times in my room, for heat and a nice bed. And then I let Him know my requests:
"Fill me with your Spirit today...that I may work unto You.....enable me to hear what your orders for my day are....help me to accomplish those things that you have for me...not for me to spin my wheels....let us see HEAVEN invade the earth. Heal my roommate (both of them). "

And when I am done....the peace of God that surpasses understanding is guarding my HEART and my MIND. So, I walk in peace....I sleep in peace...I work in peace.

What a wonderful blessing.....thank you for your peace, Lord!