Peace in the midst of waiting...

Last week my kids played PEACEFULLY with each other for almost 2 hours while I cleaned. I did still had to intervene a few times for little things, but overall it was such a rare occurrence that I found myself happily cleaning with no intentions of disrupting the peaceful sound of my children laughing and being creative together. You could say I was very pleasantly surprised! 

God has been using this season of support-raising and the various steps of faith we’ve taken a long the way to teach me about finding PEACE during uncertain times. In 2 Thess. 3:16 it says, “Now may the Lord of Peace himself give HIS peace at ALL times and in every situation.” I believe Jesus Christ is the Lord of Peace, therefore if you know the Lord, you will know peace. Does this mean I will experience peace at ALL times as a believer? Unfortunately, not. Not because I can’t find it in Christ; but rather I choose to look to my own understanding (Prov. 3:5-6) or circumstances to bring me peace. This is very conditional and temporal. On the other hand, the Lord’s peace is CONSTANT (remember it says He will give us peace at ALL times?) 

Those of you who know me know that I’m a planner and are obsessed with lists! Yep, I’m the mom who likes to plan our week out the Sunday before. And when the triplets were babies, I had a feeding/sleeping chart until they were 5 months old (I know I sound nuts, but it really helped!) A few weeks ago, I was feeling anxious about the many tasks we need to do over the next 4-5 months in preparation to move to the DR. I was losing some of the passion & excitement behind what God was calling us to because I was feeling weighed down. I was convicted to spend more time in prayer. I also sat down and created monthly to-do lists from now until December (with plenty of room to add… and of course boxes to check off when completed ) I felt such a relief just getting all of it down on paper and having a rough idea of where to focus my time and when.  

But what about the questions and uncertainties that can’t be added to a list, like…What if we don’t get to 100% by Jan? Will our kids adjust? Will they be brave or fearful being immersed in an all-Spanish speaking school? What will the day-to-day look like? And so on. All questions that do not consume me with worry but ones that I need to give to God more and ask for the Lord of Peace to rule over those uncertainties.  Making lists, connecting with potential supporters,  and planning vision nights are all necessary steps in the process but if my eyes are not fixed on the One who gives me peace at all times- no matter what the circumstances look like, I will not be able to walk by faith each step of the way. 

I have found much comfort lately in the song “Prince of Peace” by Hillsong United. Here is just a portion of the lyrics. 

(it continues)

Oh, be still my heart

And my soul will ever know that You are God

And You heard my prayer

Just as I would LOVE to drive for 10 minutes, get ready in the morning, or even clean the house without my kids whining or fighting, even more so, our Heavenly Father longs for us to know and experience constant peace found when we stop worrying and simply rest in Him- the one who orchestrates everything according to His will and His glory! What is keeping you from experiencing peace today? My prayer is that we break away from the temptation to figure everything out by our own limited understand and instead look to the Lord of Peace and find REST. 

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13  

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