Unbreakable Peace of Mind

On Mother's Day morning, I had plans to go to a special breakfast, then on to church. My nephew had planned that for his wife and I, but since we go to different churches, I was going to follow them in my car to the restaurant. My niece and I were on our way out after my nephew when he turned back to say that we would be delayed.

Why? Because someone had busted one of the windows in my car. The vandals had rummaged through the glove box and other compartments, tossing things over the seats and onto the floor.

My immediate reaction started with bewilderment, then went to fear, then to anger.

That's just my way.

When I had a moment to deal with my feelings in my way, I did what I should have in the first place: I dealt with my feelings from a Christian viewpoint. I counted my blessings:

• That more damage had not been done to the vehicle
• That I had not been present when the damage was done because I could have gotten hurt.
• That the damage was limited to only one of our vehicles (there were 2 other cars and a motorcycle parked in the driveway).
• That the damage was limited to the vehicle and had not spread to the house (or my family).
• That, since it is now spring time, I can take my time getting the window replaced without worrying about freezing when using the car.
• That nothing was taken except for an inexpensive and easily replaceable phone-charging device.

That is the way I react when I count my blessings and "count it all joy".

(source)

If I could have it my way, bad things would never happen. Since life is often made up of "bad things", my way would be to live without any peace of mind. I would walk around fearful, paranoid, unhappy, and continuously stressed out. 

I could have all the money, fame, and material things that are available but, without a true and unbreakable hope, life would steal my joy and peace. Because life is not everything we would have it to be all the time. 

Just by living, we face death. Just by loving, we face heartache. Just by having any material thing, we face losing it. Just by placing our hope in what we have managed to attain, we face being disappointed.

The only thing that any of us can truly count on is salvation and the assurance of eternal joy.

When we lose a loved one, we know that, no matter how we grieve them in this life, there will be no tears in Heaven.

When we battle illness and pain, we know that we will one day be free of it.

When we have our hearts broken, we know that we have a Savior who heals all.

We have all of this, but we still react to the world as if it is our only hope.

The incident on Mother's Day was only so awful when I reacted to it in my way. I didn't want to go to breakfast. I didn't want to think about what a beautiful, sunny day we were having. I didn't even want to leave my car unprotected. 

Once I turned those feelings over to God, I was able to move on. 

I went ahead to breakfast and my family and I ended up having the most wonderful time. We didn't make it to church because of the delay, but I worshipped God by thanking Him for all that I have - broken car window and all.

Later that day, a friend who had heard what happened, called and told me not to worry about the window. He said that, not only would he do the installation of a replacement window, but that he would even scout for one I could get at low or no cost.

When I went to bed that night, I was counting all the blessings that I have. Family, friends, and peace that can't be broken, stolen or damaged. I pray that everyone can accept the source of that peace. 

Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He is the Son of the God of all peace. 

"The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear" (Ps. 27:1)

Peace

--Free

Questioning Motivations

While watching something on a video the other day, I found myself being extremely critical of the person featured. This was a video clip of a young gospel music artist talking about his latest ventures. He was so over-eager to share that not only was he putting out a new album, but also doing a movie project and some other project, and on and on. He was just about tripping over himself, making sure to self-promote that I went from being impressed with his enthusiasm to being sort of irritated.

After I took a few moments to mentally analyze the guy and criticize him thoroughly, I realized that I was throwing a bunch of stones from a chair in my own glass house. 

When I stopped to think about it all, I realized that maybe I should be taking notes for an improvement in my own life.  For instance, what if, every time I get ready to do something or say something, I take time to consider my motives?

Hmmm....

I think that I will probably need to tie a string around a different finger every day to remember to ask myself a few questions before I speak or act from now on, but I'd like to try out the idea...

What are our motives when we do or say things? Are we always speaking to be helpful or encouraging? Do we do things to help people or to better ourselves in positive ways? If I'm going to be honest, I have to admit that I'm probably only completely non-selfish in about 30% of the things I do or say.

There have been times when I've given advice to family or friends more out of a need to look wise than to actually be a help to them. Even worse, I have sometimes tried to use my "advice" to lead them toward what I want rather than to actually advise them.

That sounds so awful when I think about it, but I really never have thought much about it before now.

Anyway, from now on, I hope to more carefully consider my true motives. I tried to come up with a list of things that I'll need to ask myself before do or say anything significant:

• Am I speaking or acting out of my negative feelings or emotions (anger, frustration, annoyance, etc.)?
• Are my feelings or emotions warranted?
• Am I saying something because I truly mean it?
• If I don't mean it, why am I bothering to say it?
• If I do mean it, can I logically defend it?
• Am I doing or saying something to look smarter than someone else - or less vulnerable?
• Am I doing or saying something just for approval or attention?
• Whose approval am I seeking by saying or doing something?
• Who am I helping (or harming) by doing or saying something?
• Is what I am doing or saying useful? And if it's not, why am I doing or saying it?
• Is this the time to say or do something or not?
• What will it really matter in the long run?
• How is what I say or do going to effect someone else?

This is basic stuff, but I don't always take the time to use my actions or words wisely. Here is something I have learned: sometimes, the most powerful motivation is a feeling powerless. That's dangerous because so many of us think the antidote to feeling powerless is a negative reaction.

courtesy my YouVersion app

I going to start this very day praying for more restraint in my moment-to-moment behavior. Guess that means I'll be doing lots of praying!

Peace

--Free