Peace and an Unpeaceful Me

Ulster Project season is almost here. I can smell it in the air. I can feel it in my bones. In a little more than 24 hours a group of teens are going to step onto a plane for a journey that will change their lives. And each year that I participate, I too am changed. A little piece of me gets closer to the way things God intended. We all see a clearer picture of what the Kingdom of Heaven would look like here on earth. The Prince of Peace gives us a glimpse of what is spoken in Isaiah 2:4, "He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." 

I am amazed and humbled at how unqualified I am to teach other people about peace and reconciliation. If we want to see peace in the world, it has to start from within. You can ask Brad or others who are close to me - I am not always the most peaceful person. My patience is thin and my tongue quick to lash out. My soul is restless. In the past few days alone I have learned more than I ever thought I could about remaining peaceful in a time of unrest and turmoil. And let me tell you, it is much easier said than done.   

Peace is a lofty and noble goal, but it will never fully be achieved on this earth. I believe that people are innately good, but we have hardened over the years and some of us have lost touch with that soft side. We have forgotten how good it is to feel for people other than ourselves. And that is the opposite of peace: not violence or war, but the idea that we are all islands fighting to stand our own ground. It will not be until we remember that we are all an interconnected mass - one body - that peace can even be within our reach. Co-existence maybe. But Christ did not die so that His children could co-exist. After all, He is the Prince of Peace.  

Rest

We spent today cleaning out the garage and getting the rest of our things out of the house and into storage. It feels strange to be done with that place and even stranger still is the idea that we're not exactly sure what our next steps are. Transition is a difficult place to be in. But it is also very freeing.

In all of the sorting I came across some of my old journals. I always find it very enlightening (and amusing!) to look back on where I have been. One of the entries I read today stopped me in my tracks. How could something that I wrote 5 years ago still be so relevant in my life today? The topic was on rest and the Sabbath. We know the drill - we are supposed to work diligently for 6 days and rest on the 7th. But what happens when life is so fast-paced and so busy that we forget to rest? We are so involved and responsible for so many things that demand our time and our attention, even on the Sabbath. It would be irresponsible for us to rest. Right? The problem with this busy lifestyle is that it messes up the rhythm of life, and it takes away from one of the most beautiful gifts God has ever given us - rest. When God commands the Sabbath in Exodus 20, it is right after the Israelites left Egypt, where they were slaves. By establishing the Sabbath, God is telling his people, "You are not in Egypt anymore. Your value is not in how much you can do. Your value is in who you are. I command you one day of rest so you can remember you are free." This was an extremely difficult reminder for me tonight. And what comes next is even more difficult to swallow. It is a quote from Messy Spirituality that I wrote in my journal on June 5, 2007:

"We do know how to rest; we simply refuse to rest. Rest is a decision we make. Rest is choosing to do nothing when we have too much to do, slowing down when we feel pressure to go faster, stopping instead of starting. Rest is listening to our weariness and responding to our tiredness, not to what is making us tired. Rest is what happens when we say one simple word: No. Rest is the ultimate humiliation because in order to rest, we must admit we are not necessary, that the world can get along without us, that God's work does not depend on us. Once we understand how unnecessary we are, only then might we find the right reasons to say yes...."

If you need me tonight, I'll be resting.