Peace like a river

Apparently today is the International Day of Peace. I must admit it seems like a great ideal, but these days, it feels pretty unrealistic. The world seems more chaotic, more frightening, more out of control every day, and I often wonder where to even begin in my efforts to be a peacemaker.

And yet I do believe peace is possible. If you are my friend on Facebook or follow me on Instagram, you will see that I often post nature pictures because nature is a place where I feel at peace, where I feel a connection to God that is hard to come by in the distractions and busyness of the rest of my life. There is a wisdom to nature - it is not in a hurry. But that is not how we live our lives. We are always in a hurry, always rushing to what is next.

In her book, Searching for Sunday Rachel Held Evans talks about the difference between a cure and healing. She writes, "The thing about healing as opposed to curing, is that it is relational. It takes time. It is inefficient, like a meandering river. Rarely does healing follow a straight or well-lit path. Rarely does it conform to our expectations or resolve in a timely manner."

Peace is the ultimate healing. But it takes time. It takes a letting go of egos and being "right." It takes loving our neighbor as ourselves through our actions, not just our words. It takes work and time and energy and sacrifice. There is no such thing as instant peace. I am reminded of a song by For King and Country, "O God Forgive Us." In the song there is a line "We want drive through peace and instant hope. Our shallow faith, it has left us broke. O, O God forgive us."

Oh God forgive us indeed. And may we begin to do the hard work that leads to lasting peace, like the river that slowly wears away the rock, knowing that each effort matters.

P.S. The whole song, "O God Forgive Us," is powerful. To watch the video, go here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz4toSf-xQU

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