“Miss Lucy” Peony (6/25), photograph by Chris Bartlett 

Peace

What do you think of when you think of “peace?”  What imagery comes to your mind?  I recently went to a concert at the site where the original Woodstock Music Festival was held…the well-known “peace sign” spoke its message throughout that place.  At the burial site at my grandmother’s funeral, a flock of white doves was released into the air…I remember thinking of how “peaceful” they looked as they dressed the skies with their quiet beauty.  Sometimes, I think of it when the splendor of a breathtaking piece of music makes its way through my ears and into my soul, and I pause for a moment to let it serenade my heart with its melody.

Peace. It means so many things to so many people.  World peace; where there is no more violence, no more war. A bit of peace and quiet after the children are snug in their beds, and a mother sits down to rest at the end of her day. Spiritual peace, when communing with God listening for His still, small voice.

“Miss Lucy” Peony (6/26), photograph by Chris Bartlett

For me, peace is a type of freedom.  It is deeply rooted in a contented heart, where I am awash in calmness, despite the storms that clatter around me.  Mind you, I do not experience that state of being very often. I have a habit of letting myself get in the way of it time and time again.  But when I do find myself in that place, as I am residing there today, it truly feels like I am home…and I never want to venture outside of its doors.

I bid you that kind of peace; today and always.

“My chains are gone, I’ve been set free.  My God, my Savior has ransomed me.  And like a flood, His mercy reigns.  Unending love, amazing grace.” (Lyrics from the song “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone”)), ( Chris Tomlin Lyrics )

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