Day Eleven

What does Peace look like?

The following is what I wrote for my church’s advent devotional for this year.  I fully admit I borrowed heavily from a Facebook conversation that my friend Candace Fowler started. I’m lucky that having spiritual, thoughtful friends makes me look wise. Right?

When Brad asked me to write for the advent devotional I agreed quickly.  I’ve been writing a Christmas blog online for over a decade (Judsons25days.blogspot.com). Last year I compiled those writings and published a book.  “Of course, I can do this!” I told Brad. However, when I sat down to actually write, I realized what a challenge I faced. 

My life isn’t peaceful.  I have a 21-year-old son, an 18-year-old son, and another 18-year-old “Bonus son” all living at home. Unless Peace looks like different types of loud music coming from multiple bedrooms competing with video games turned up to full blast at the same time, you probably are not going to find Peace at my house.  In addition to that mayhem, at any given point, on any given day there are extra people in our home.  Sometimes it is girlfriends, but more likely it is a friend, a buddy, a teammate, or classmate who is hanging out, stopped by for dinner, or needs a place to sleep tonight.  More than once when we have sat down to dinner, Kathleen and I have realized the 2 or 3 teens sharing our meal aren’t our sons and don’t actually live with us. That is alright. 

Why has our house become the hub for this nonstop chaotic mix of teens?  I always say that it must be Kathleen.  She is everyone’s mom, she is sweet, kind, will feed anyone who is hungry, hug you when you need it, pick you up in the middle of the night, and even withhold questions until you are safely home. Our home feels safe. It probably IS Kathleen, at least in part, but there is more to it. These teens are on the brink of adulthood in a world that doesn’t always feel safe.  While my home is often a maelstrom of chaos and noise, and rarely looks as tidy and neat I’d like, it is a safe place.  If their home doesn’t feel safe, then at least our home does.

A friend of mine asked recently what is it about hiding under our blankets that makes us feel safe?  Honestly, if there was a nightmare creeping in the dark, why do we think hiding under our blankets will protect us? I don’t have that answer, but I understand the feeling.  We live in a world that is filled with anxiety.  We try to control everything, or at the very least to exert a moderate amount of control on our world, instead of relying on the Peace that comes from God.  I am not certain that God’s Peace looks like what I picture Peace to look like, (primarily silence and calm), but I do believe that the inner security, that feeling of safety we get hiding under out blankets, is what God’s Peace feels like.   Peace isn’t coming from having things under control, or from silence. It is coming from within, from having a heavenly focus while we are all here on earth.

So, do me a favor? Amid the holiday season of too much to do, and unmet expectations, take a deep breath and focus on God’s Peace (even if you need a to hide under a blanket to do so).