It’s that time of the year again, the time of gift-giving and gift-receiving. It’s also time for me to think of another month’s worth of articles and as much as I love writing these and I love this time of year, after 20 plus years of writing it’s not always easy to come up with new themes. As I thought and prayed, I realized I’d recently pulled out a book from my personal library. I don’t recall where or when I got it, but the title shouted “Bingo! This is what you’re looking for!”
Titled, "Gifts I'd like to give to you" it's a compilation of quotes from various authors and edited by Douglas Pagels. It's a treasure I didn't even realize I had.
My first offering to you, my readers, and to myself, is the gift of quiet peace. These past months have done little or nothing to eliminate tension but true peace isn't dependent upon circumstances; in fact, we need it more than ever as we go through troublesome times. A Chinese proverb puts it this way: "the words 'peace' and 'tranquility' are worth a thousand pieces of gold."
For many, Christmas brings its own load of tension. Planning and purchasing gifts, planning or cancelling travel plans (as necessary) as well as extra baking are just a few of those extras that can wear us down. Thankfully I’ve never experienced the tension of how to handle family friction in what’s supposed to be a joyous season of celebration, but I know many folks do.
“The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you in His love, He will rejoice over you with singing ….” (Zephaniah 3:17)
Here’s a gift for each of us: God bless our days with quiet peace.
