Blessed are the Peacemakers – Finding Peace in a Chaotic World!
There are few more peaceful experiences than watching a sunset – whether over the Pacific Ocean, snow-capped mountains, or midwest corn and wheat fields. When was the last time you watched a sunset, or a sunrise? If it has been awhile, get up early tomorrow morning and watch the sun rise from the east or head outside tomorrow evening as it sets in the west. You will feel a peace you have not felt in quite some time!
Sadly, it seems we have lost our ability to find peace in our everyday experiences and interactions.
While our Washington, D.C. representatives wrestle and fight over how much money they will borrow in the next few years, seeking to scare us into submission and subservience, an epidemic of violence is sweeping our nation, the likes of which we have not previously seen.
Check out these headlines from around the country, just in this morning’s news:
3 people killed and 5 wounded in shooting at motorcycle rally in Red River, New Mexico
Mob of up to 40 teens jump three marines on California beach
Vegas looks like warzone as massive fights unfold
9 shot, including minors, as gunfire erupts in Hollywood, Florida
Homeland sees ‘heightened threat’ of attacks on churches, cops and feds ahead of 2024 election
Yes, we need to pay attention to what is happening in our communities and neighborhoods, but if we focus too much on the bad, we forget about all the good in the world.
Contrast the previous headlines with these:
Homeless Man Hailed as Hero for Rescuing Family from Apartment Fire: ‘He was an angel’
The Incredible Moment 69-Year-Old Stops a Bank Robbery with Words and a Hug
2nd-grader who vanished while camping in Michigan is found safe
Teen umpire saves 7-year-old from a dust devil swirling near home plate
74-Year-Old Hero Rescues Woman From Hotel Fire
Paralyzed Man Walks Naturally After Groundbreaking Brain Implants
The epidemic of violence sweeping our nation can no longer be overlooked and ignored. We need to do something, not just to curb, but to eliminate this scourge that threatens our families and communities.
How to address and eliminate the violance that rages around the world demands debate, discussion, and discourse, but certainly, change starts at home, doesn’t it?
Bringing peace, joy, and happiness back into our lives and into our daily interactions with others will help us see the world in a better light and will also teach our children to avoid violence and contention because they only create pain and suffering.
A positive, successful solution to a flailing world begins by creating, finding, and highlighting the good we see round us, especially with our families.
How do we do this? Certainly the answer will differ from person to person, from family to family, and from community to community. Your answers will and should be unique.
But, just to get you started, here are a few ideas:
— Return to your faith in God. If you have not been in awhile, take your family to church this weekend.
— Dust off that Bible and read Matthew 5, alone and with your family. What an amazing chapter of scripture!
— Have dinner with your entire family every night for a week. Then for another week.
— Spend time outside with your family – in the yard, in a park, walking through a downtown. Anywhere works.
— Go outside and talk to your neighbors.
— Take a break from social media.
— Find ways to express your gratitude, to God and to those around you. Be intentional in giving thanks.
— Go Camping.
— Watch a sunrise, then a sunset, then another sunrise. Take note how the world revolves without fail from day to day.
These are just a few ideas to get you started. Try these and other ideas you and your family come up with and see just how you will find the peace and joy and happiness so often lacking in the world around us.
Then, share that peace with others.
By doing so, we can change the world one good experience at a time
Let’s get busy!
