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“Peace of mind is worth more than all the tea in China!”
~Virginia
Thrash
my Grandmother
My grandmother, though she didn’t have a
college education, was simply the wisest person I’ve ever known. She was so
right, at some point we must evaluate our lives. The word “evaluate” simply
means to take assessment of the value of a thing. In other words, at some point
in life we will likely be faced with making a decision regarding what we value
or deem important. Do we value peace…or do we value the opinions of others? Do
we value peace….or do we value material things and status symbols? Do we value
peace…or do we place value on the companionship of a significant other…any ol’
other!
In my last blog post I lifted a
scripture from Psalms 34 (the 14th verse) in which we are compelled
to “seek peace and pursue it!” It’s important to understand, first, that I don’t
believe God asks us to do something or
seek something that cannot be done or
cannot be found. So, no matter what the naysayers say…PEACE IS POSSIBLE in the world!
Secondly, we can’t overlook that the Hebrew word for “peace” is
Shalom. The noun שלומ (shalom)
refers to one who has, or has been provided, what is needed to be whole and
complete. Likewise, the
verb shalam means to "restore" in the sense of replacing or providing
what is needed in order to make someone or something whole and complete. Therefore,
we must remember that peace isn’t simply the absence of something (chaos, turmoil,
anxiety, conflict, etc.) but the presence
of something (wholeness and completeness).
Peace is possible…peace is the presence of wholeness and completeness.
Peace is the state of nothing missing, nothing
broken. It is a sense of contentment and harmony with what was, what is and
whatever is to be. (In my spiritual imagination, I sense it’s like the feeling
you get after a good meal with good company…you rear back and all seems to be
ok in the world…ahhh, this is peace…This reminds me of the line from the great
movie, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” in which the innkeeper says, “In the
end everything will be ok, and if it is not ok, it is not yet the end.”)
Again, in
my spiritual imagination, and in fact in my meditation time not long ago, I saw
life as a windstorm and peace as a handle or knotted rope, anchoring us. This
is what peace does, when life comes at us with torrential winds, if we can just
hold our peace, we will be centered and anchored in a supernatural presence. I
believe, that first and foremost, this anchoring force is the truth that we
have peace with God.
As stated
in the last post I want to address what it means to have peace with God, peace
with ourselves, and ultimately peace with others (because, anecdotally, the
latter can’t occur without the former). But for now, I want to leave with you this…
This is not the end of our
story. Our best days are not behind us; they are ahead of us. Peace is the presence of something, something
divine. Without it the winds of life will blow us to and fro…with it we are
anchored and steady and ready to receive all of the #bigthingscoming.
NOTE: If you’re new to the site it might be helpful to read
the first (introductory) post. Also, feel free to post your questions or
comments here and you can always reach out to me on Twitter @raycjordan using
the hash tag #bigthingscoming.
(Copyright,
2014, Ray Jordan)
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