Today I am revisiting a post I wrote in 2014. On that day peace felt elusive and hard to reach. Today, I am experiencing similarities in my renewed search for a peace that only God provides. I am reaching and begging for perfect peace. As I search again, I learn anew how the faithfulness of God stretches across all seasons, fills our days from beginning to end and never fails us along the way. When I first wrote this, snow covered the ground and whispers of peace filled the air as snowflakes swirled slowly to the ground. Today, summer is beginning its descent into Fall even though the temperatures still indicate that summer is not ready to fade into the sunset. Enjoy and know that the God of peace is for us, with us and in us always.
Peace is eluding me recently… a peace that surrounds the outside and seeps into every pore of my insides. A peace that washes away the stress of life with its comfort. Real life moments build and consume me of late with a wedding around the corner and important decisions hovering nearby. (As an aside, the wedding took place last weekend!)
As a planner -a ducks in a row kind of girl- I crave details to check off my to do list and preparations nearly complete. With this personality trait, comes the creation of huge mountains of uncertainty that become impossible for me to climb. The result is a huge desire to crawl under the blankets and not come out until it’s all over.
God has sensed the unrest recently and has been walking by my side as stress becomes my norm. He reminds me that all I need to do is reach out and grab His hand and let Him lead the way-He is one touch away! I am also known for my stubbornness. I want to figure things out on my own because in my mind “I’ve got this”. Our Father is always available and honored to be included in the life that He so carefully chose for us. He is the keeper of the whispers of peace when the world shouts chaos.
God is working His way through my stress in recent weeks and each time I put Him off with a bravado that looks good on the outside but does not match my inside. God gently surrounds me with these words of hope…
[Tweet “When the stillness of morning brings uncertainty,let yourself go from what could be to what is!”]
It is a gentle release of my reality to His.
I believe those words for fleeting moments and then quickly forget. Several weeks ago, God gave me a reason to stop and let Him in. I enjoyed the gift of a day at a coffee shop – a treasure for all writers and introverts everywhere. A chance to break all routines and just be. Loudly I heard, “I did this just for you! Slow down, be still, breathe in my beauty.”
There were no routines that day. It was a writing and coffee shop, kind of day. The whispers of peace that hover now are able to enter and fill without distraction. God knows just what we need exactly when we need it.
I pray that you find some small, still moments as your own distractions threaten to overwhelm. As the mountains of your stress seem unapproachable, pause, reset and look to God who is our peace and stress reliever.
You will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
Trust in the Lord always,
for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. Isaiah 26:3- 4 NLT
Searching for peace and finding it in God!
Linking with my dear friend Lisha @GiveMeGrace
This is the perfect reminder that God is always around to guide us.
I’m so glad you’re back with your loving encouragement, Mary. I hope you had lots of soul rest. “It is a gentle release of my reality to His.” We need that surrender each and every day, don’t we? May God give us that perfect peace! Hugs!
Thank you sweet Trudy! Life has been quite interesting over the last few months. You can read more about it tomorrow when my next post goes live. I am praying we all feel God’s perfect peace. Blessings on your week!
Good morning Mary, my Ohio friend. I realize this post is two years old yet today finds you looking for that surpassing peace once again. You quoted my mom’s favorite (all-time) scripture, Isaiah 26.3-4. The year following my mom’s sudden, unexpected death was a time of great sorrow and loss of direction and peace for me – so hard to get my footing. But it did come but not without a “limp”. Praying for you my friend.
I think The Doctor is ordering a quick road trip to Greenville this coming weekend for The Consilium Meetup!!!
See you there? xoxoxoxoxo
I love the words from Isaiah and now I love them more knowing they were your mom’s favorite. Sometimes life catches us limping but through it all we are blessed with the beautiful hope that comes from God. Enjoy your Consilium meetup. I know it will be fun!
I love how God can drop us into a spot of exactly what we need! I trust He continues to create these peaceful coffee-shop type of places for you, knowing exactly what will bring peace, joy and love.
Thank you for these kind words. I pray for a peace that surpasses all understanding and many more real life coffee shop moments or meetings with friends. God knows our needs before we do and I am holding onto that truth tonight. Blessings on your week.
I’m so glad to see that you’re back–at least it’s my latest attempt to see if you are! 😉 And I know this has been a challenging season for you, to be sure. So full of highs and painful lows. Know that I’ve not stopped praying for you. Btw, I think that sometimes there are seasons when the Lord carries us–so maybe you not only need to grab His hand, but let Him carry you through each day.
I’m back! I am here because God is gracious enough to walk with me during this emotional season and provides me with the words to share with all of you. I am letting Him carry me because as soon as I think everything is all okay, reality hits me again. So glad you checked in and are praying for me. I am blessed to call you friend.
Mary, thank you for sharing this. It’s a reminder to us that God is right here with us. We don’t need to try to do it all on our own. Sometimes we can be stubborn, but I pray God will help us to see Him and go to Him first. Blessings to you!
I am praying with you that God is always our first line of defense. When I think I know best, I am reminded that is not true. God has the plan and it is perfect. Sitting here in the promise tonight that God is right here with us. Blessed you stopped by.
Mary,
You’ve been on my mind as well…with your dad’s passing and all the change going on in your life…peace can certainly be elusive. I often have to remind myself that God’s peace is not always a warm and fuzzy feeling…it’s a truth. Praying His peace upon you and quiet in your soul.
Love and blessings,
Bev xo
Peace is the truth that God has not abandoned us and instead is loving us back into a place of hope. We have a good, good Father who never fails to provide for us even in those times that we do not visibly see or feel His presence. Thank you for being a dear friend and for praying for me during this time of loss.
Mary! So good to hear your voice this morning! I went looking for you as I’ve not seen you in my in-box lately. For whatever reason, I didn’t get an email notification about this new post. Has something changed with subscribers to your blog?
I can relate to your words about looking for peace — and so often I turn around and find that the Prince of Peace has been looking for me all along.
False alarm! The email did arrive!
Thank goodness because when you first said you had not received the email notification I was thinking to myself that I have no idea what to do!!! Yay for false alarms!
It always amazes me that just when I feel despair or that I am missing out on something, God shows up and brings exactly what we need. He is so good to us and these little gifts that He leaves in our path are ones I am so grateful for. Thank you for being a faithful reader and friend. I am truly blessed.
I’m glad to see you here tonight, Mary … I’ve missed you in recent weeks. God has put your name on my heart at times and I have lifted you back up to Him.
I hope all is well and that your break from writing is doing your soul good.
He whispers ‘peace.’
God never makes mistakes and I am more than blessed that you lifted me back to God in recent weeks. We live in this place between joy and sorrow at times and that is exactly where I have been sitting. Sometimes God enforces a break because you need to be fully present for what is happening in your life. I know you understand all of this. I am just so glad you stopped in and checked in on me. You are such a dear.