Aug 10
3
Peace, Sweet Peace
“Sometimes, it is nice to just be us.” I woke up early this morning (my husband was already awake). I lay in my bed, trying to decide if I would wake up or go back to sleep, and I thought about how nice it is that all of us are home. An overwhelming calm and peace swept through me as I realized each one of my children who lives at home was sleeping peacefully in his or her bed. I thought about the lovely evening we spent together celebrating a new independence in our lives. I pondered my gratitude for each member of my family…and I felt totally at peace.
I have learned to treasure the small moments of peace in my life. I feel peace when I hold a sleeping baby, especially one that is my grandchild. I find it when I am awake in the night or the early morning and my house is quiet and still. I feel it again as I go through photographs of my family and remember the times we have shared and the memories we have built together.
I have peace when I read stories to my children and grandchildren. One of my favorite activities is to have all members of our family climb on our bed, each toting a book of poetry, and we share our favorite poems together. We don’t do this as much as I would like. Somewhere along the way, we became too busy. I miss the peace that reading poetry together brought to us.
I love the peace that comes from getting away for a few days. I love the peace that comes as we sing around the piano. I love the peace that comes as we have a “positive round,” where we share what we like about one another with each other. I feel the love and peace that a connected family brings to my life.
We work hard to stay connected. Our lives can become so very distracted by the cares and responsibilities of the world. We can bring back the peace of our family in the small moments of calm, love and connection we experience. We need to look, listen and pay attention to those moments. We find them as we live in the present. We find them as we watch for them. We find them when our hearts are “tightly knit together in love.” Even in the busy-ness of our lives, we can create moments of peace for ourselves and our families. What will you do today to create peace?
