“Blessed are the peacemakers . . ..”
I turn 38
tomorrow. As I think of 38 – late thirties,
two years to forty, middle age, 20 year high school reunion, etc. I feel myself shifting into a new state. I spent a lot of years gazing at my navel searching
for my identity. A lot of years spent in
school avoiding my fear of failure. My
motto, “When I get ___________ figured out/accomplished, then I will start
doing something.” A lot of time spent
waiting and preparing before I could really start living. And perhaps this is what the first part of
life is about – figuring out who we are and what role we are to play in the
human story. Maybe it is that am now in
my late thirties, but something is nudging me to stop waiting and start doing.
This is not to say nothing has been
accomplished to date or that the past is irrelevant, but I am noticing a
different kind of stirring and it started with hearing the phrase, “Blessed are
the peacemakers.” I am called to take an active part in bringing
about the Kingdom of God – an active participation in the reign of God – What am
I doing? How am I being a peacemaker?
How am I bringing peace into the world?
These are questions of action.
What am I doing?
I believe the question of doing begins with how I am being.
Am I at peace? If I could wrap up
the last few weeks of my life, I would say I am peaceful. The sunny days and warm temperatures have
certainly helped. But there is more – I am
balanced and happy. The pillars that
feed my peace were in place – reading, writing, running, and being productive
around the house. The peace suckers were
absent – obsessively watching Netflix, lying on the couch, taking naps when I
do not need them. The peace suckers are also depression feeders
and contribute to a vicious cycle of self-loathing, emotional eating, irritability,
and general malaise. In other words, I
was not so fun to be around and definitely not promoting peace.
Filling my life with peace suckers leads to me living in my
cave and avoiding intimate contact with others.
In contrast, peace fillers – that which clears away my own garbage so
that I can be a physical, emotional, and spiritual presence for others
naturally fosters peace making. Being a
peace-bearer leads to peace-making.
Being leads to doing.
My list of peace suckers:
Looking at my cell phone; playing solitaire on my phone;
watching too much television; laziness; worrying about what others think of me;
unresolved conflict.
And the peace fillers:
Reading; writing; meditation/prayer; running/working out; taking
care of people; listening to people’s stories; productivity; going to church;
playing with my kiddos; deep and honest conversations with friends.
When I am filled with peace, I cannot help but want to
share it with the world around me. May the peace of Christ be with you and your
spirit. May we identify and weed out the
peace suckers and keep our focus on the peace fillers.
