Peacemakers

Currently Reading An Emergent Theology for Emerging Churches By Ray S. Anderson

We must be the change we wish to see. Mahatma Gandhi

I do not want the peace that passeth understanding. I want the understanding which bringeth peace. Helen Keller

There never was a good war or a bad peace. Benjamin Franklin

One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one. Agatha Christie

When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace. Jimi Hendrix

Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict -- alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence. Dorothy Thompson

The gentle snowfall outside is reflected luminously through the moonshine, cascading gracefully onto the front yard, and it looks exquisite. The blanche covering of snow has mounded into small dunes, all from the plows and shovels and namely, the wind. These elements have all created a tiny mountain range, one peak following another, like the Grand Tetons, but instead of exploding across the western plain, its in your front yard. Its our homegrown winter version - these tiny Tetons are close to a pine tree in the corner of the yard and I don't want to walk near it for fear of accidentally destroying it.

This is the first time it has been anything described as gentle in these past few days. This winter storm has kept us all inside, only going out for the most necessary of reasons. I'm glad I had made a pharmacy run on Friday a.m. for insulin, glucose tabs and glucose strips. We needed to dash out this afternoon for specific lightbulbs as the last one in the bathroom burned out - rats! School has been canceled, corps programs canceled, music rehearsals and sports practices postponed to be rescheduled at some later date. Seeing the school listing in the morning to notice our schools were canceled again brought a sigh of relief ("A little more sleep" "A pajama day") and also a string of phone calls to "take care of the day."

Since the weekend included MidWinter Retreat for me and T., Dave got A.N.K. to Grandma's house - yippee! Everyone accomplished a great deal this weekend and we caught up with each other at Bob Evans on Sunday evening to share jokes and antedotes over syrup, omelettes, bacon and biscuits.

Needless to say, from spending two days at Grandma's and then two days home from school, my kids have seen more of each other than normal. We have had relaxing days in the schedule - not having to travel to so many places or programs to have completed - but they have also brought their own tension. Quiet moments have been shared but so have some quick and fierce arguments. A reading time has melted down from a quick poke to the head and a dash down the hall with a full-fledged linebacker tackle. I enjoy spending time with my children, treasuring their individual personalities, but they themselves don't seem to enjoy the cornucopia of personality their TANKness can bring.

They've been getting on each other's nerves.

As we were at N. soccer game last night, we found in the stands that our other friends are experiencing the same cabin fever quarrelsomeness. We parents watched the game (which N.s team won 6-1 woohoo) as the siblings all played and ran and spun and laughed and ran some more. "This morning was a fight about boogers..." was one lament, as another described the argument that happened about which color of pink was pretty and which was blecky. "Tag, you're it" has easily dissolved into a wrestling match...

...speaking of tag, I've been tagged from Ali. (Hello Ali...)

1. Pick up the nearest book, of at least 123 pages 2. Turn to page 123 3. Count down 5 sentences 4. Post the next three sentences 5. Tag 5 more people
There is a pile at my chair. My nearest book is Heart Talks on Holiness, Samuel Logan Brengle (only 117 pages). Next is God's High Calling For Women by John MacArthur (only 75 pages), so what is next is The Complete Illustrated Shakespeare edited by Howard Staunton. Page 123 is Comedy of Errors, Act II., Adriana's monologue, expressing her open heart to her husband. "Wouldst thou not spit at me, and spurn at me, and hurl the name of husband in my face, and tear the stain'd skin off my harlot brow, and from my false hand cut the wedding-ring, and break it with a deep-divorcing vow? I know thou canst, and therefore see thou do it. I am possess'd with an adulterate blot; my blood is mingled with the grime of lust:For, if we two be one, and thou play false, I do digest the poison of thy flesh, being strumpeted by thy contagion." Whoa, not good, not good at all.

I tag Evelyn Clark http://koli8.blogspot.com, Tim Clark http://clarkid.blogspot.com, Tim Miller http://thesearemychurchclothes.blogspot.com, Rochelle McAllister http://johnandrochelle.blogspot.com and Marta Agerhttp://frommartasvineyard.blogspot.com

Anyway...

...much of what has happened each hour has required me to be a peacemaker. Sometimes, it has resorted to different corners for 5 minutes until behavior has changed. Sometimes it has included increased chores (they did every load of laundry and vacuumed each bedroom).

Being the peacemaker has not been the easiest spot these past few days: its messy, stressful, filled with conflict in need of solutions, some name calling, some hurt feelings, some resistance to correction, some strong words, some tearfelt apologies. I have reached for the bottle of Advil more than once, and even "volunteered" to shovel the driveway, actually needing to take a breather outside in the frigid air to collect myself so I didn't lose control.

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early a.m. edit - our school system is closed again for Wednesday. We have another day to get this right. Peace, peace, perfect peace...
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When Jesus gave his teaching in Matthew 5:9, what we term as The Sermon on the Mount, He highlighted different circumstances in life which are not easy within which to live. "Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the sons of God." Jesus did not accentuate the act of loving peace as the supreme condition here. He illuminates the process of making peace - of keeping peace. These two things, loving peace and making peace, are two different things.

Are you experiencing conflict today, in the midst of a power struggle, a tug of war over choices and opinions? Have you found your circumstance void of easy or simple solutions, you needing to get more than one person to see life through another's eyes? Are you finding yourself in the throes of making peace, and you are reaching for the Advil from the headache it has all caused within your spirit? Reach deep for the strength God has for you and know He is including you in His activity, His work. Making peace is God's divine touch, and though it is never easy, it is always needed.

Peace is at hand, God's peace, and you can be the instrument of His divine peace. You are His child when you are within His activity. Bring the peace of God today.