Daily Archives: December 14, 2007

I received a Christmas card today. “May the peace of the holidays continue throughout the year!” I laughed. Peace of the holidays?! Who has peace during the holidays? I’m still laughing. Don’t get me wrong — Christmas is definitely my favorite time of the year, but it’s certainly not the most peaceful.

Let’s see … we baked about five dozen cookies last week. I’ve got at least another five dozen to bake before Wednesday. I’ve barely started my shopping, forget the wrapping. I’ve got four boxes to mail across the country and one six-hour road trip to make within the next few days. Isabel has her third (yes, THIRD) school pageant this week. My birthday is on Monday, my house is a disaster, I haven’t even started our Christmas cards and — oh, did I mention we started potty-training Zach? On top of all this, I’ve got stamping stuff going on. Have I told you I’m a demonstrator with Stampin’ Up? Well, I am. It’s less a business and more a means to support my scrapbooking addiction, but still … the new catalog comes out January 1st, so I’ve got retirement lists to distribute and customers to serve. Rick and I celebrate our anniversary on January 2nd, and Isabel goes back to school on January 3rd. There went the holiday season. Where was my peace?

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33 (NAS, emphasis mine)

I like the way Petersen phrases it in The Message: “I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.”

Peace, like joy, has nothing to do with our circumstances. They are untouched by what happens around us.

I once heard of an art competition whose goal was to define peace. Most entries depicted serene landscapes of beaches or happy grandparents on front porches. One work was quite different. It showed a terrible storm surrounding a lighthouse. The clouds weighed heavy and dark in the sky. The waves crashed, evidence of a menacing wind. How in the world was this peaceful? In the midst of terrifying weather, a small bird slept in her nest. This tiny creature trusted the lighthouse to protect her. She was fully at peace knowing the strength of her fortress.

As Petersen says, trusting in Jesus makes us unshakable and assured. Therein our peace is found.

Life never stops. It doesn’t settle. The stress of the holidays may end, but then something else will rush to take its place. The peace (or lack thereof) of the holidays already follows me throughout the year. But that’s okay because Jesus Christ has overcome the world. It doesn’t matter what surrounds me because, as a child of God, I am already a conqueror. This is where I find the peace that passes understanding. May peace of fully trusting in Christ in every circumstance fill my year. May you have the same.

Photo by Cutris Fletcher.