Peace

Lately many of my conversations have led to the topic of peace. It seems many people I know are struggling with peace in their lives, in one area or another. While in Texas, Sarah saw a book in Walmart she thought I would like - Beth Moore's, Breaking Free. I read the back of the book, and thought it looked like a good book so I bought it. I began reading it before I went to bed each night in Texas. I have to say, it is one of the best books that she has written, that I've read so far. She covers a number of areas in our lives that are obstacles to peace. Not just obstacles to peace, but obstacles to joy, closeness to God, and abundant living. The book has been a real blessing to me so far, and I'm only halfway through. I plan to reread it more thoroughly when I'm done, but I'm excited to read it all right away for now. Anyway, it has led me to begin the process of removing obstacles in my life - that block my peace. I'm working on other lessons I'm learning from the book, too, but I brought up this one because it seems there are quite a few others of you out there struggling with issues of peace - in various areas of your lives. This is likely not any coincidence, that I'm meeting so many with the same thoughts and topic on their minds.

I guess there are alot of things happening on the island right now to disrupt peace, so I can relate, to be sure. But I found that it's not just my island friends that I'm hearing from, it's a fair number of statesiders too. So what is causing all the unrest? Well, it's a number of things, I guess. Some of you are just plain exhausted, working so much, keeping so busy. Those in the states who hear about my life on island, envy the peaceful, laid back life out here. Those on island envy the convenience, competence, fresh food, good conversation of the states. Maybe envy isn't the right word, it's more like each side is getting really tired of the things that wear down their peace and wholeness. So what did I learn so far from listening to friends and reading, and listening to God? Well, all of us are in dire need of refreshing. We need to find a way of rest and rebuilding, relaxing and, well, refreshing. Our bodies and our spirits need it. We can press on and on, but will eventually reach a level of discontent that moves us to make changes. I posted the picture above because it just says 'peaceful' to me - I'm with my son, the scenery is beautiful, the river is peaceful. So I guess I'm on another bit of a journey, this one is to discover more deeply the meaning and importance of peace in my life. I might keep you posted on the journey's progress. But if you see me around island, feel free to share your journey - I've heard from a few so far.