For many, the holiday season is not often peaceful. The hustle and bustle of food prep, buying gifts, decorating, and entertaining out of town guests fills some people with joy, but for others, it feels far more stressful than fun.
When we’re feeling stressed, we often look ahead to what we believe are possible solutions to feeling less stress.
If only the kids would be quieter in the mornings.
If only I could get that promotion at work.
If only that “special someone” would notice me.
If only this health issue would go away.
If only I could kick this bad habit.
If only I could lose weight.
If only…
And those things aren’t necessarily bad things to want, but if we’re always looking ahead, we miss being present here and now. If we’re looking outside of ourselves and at our circumstances, the search for peace will continue. Looking for good things to come to us or for bad things to go away will result in the opposite of what we want; peace will seem fleeting.
If our being at peace is dependent on outside circumstances - whether it’s good things coming to us or bad things going away - we will never feel at peace for any longer than the circumstance lasts. We will never feel truly at peace.
True peace comes from a very different place.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace – Isaiah 9:6
Peace isn’t the absence of something; it’s the presence of someone (borrowed from Bob Hamp - and changed a bit). If we continue to look outside of ourselves for peace, we will continue searching. Peace doesn’t come from things we want or the absence of things we don’t want. Peace comes from connection to the True Source of Life.
For to us a child is born….and they will call him Immanuel—which means, “God with us.”
God with us.
God within us.
Invite Immanuel, the Prince of Peace, the True Source of Life to dwell within you.
Shalom, shalom.
If you’d like to talk more about inviting peace to dwell within, send me an email or schedule some one-on-one time with me. And consider subscribing to my blog where I post lots of helpful suggestions on how you can begin (and continue) this journey of recovering your blueprint!
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