Dear readers,
Today I want to talk about peace.
I'm not talking about the kind of peace John Lennon sang about, or the kind of peace pacifists are passionate about. The kind of peace I'd like to write about is the kind that can only be found in the still places.
When I worked at camp, I remember some of the most memorable moments for me were when I'd get up early (about an hour or so before morning staff meeting) and I'd go sit outside, usually on the steps of the boathouse or against the rock climbing wall. Mornings at camp were so quiet and peaceful, and the lake just looked so still. I would take in these moments before the craziness of a camp day began. I found it so easy to connect with God when it was so quiet. I mean, one of the most famous verses from the Bible is Psalm 46:10: "Be still and know that I am God."
About two months ago, I had gone back to Cedarwood for a young adults retreat and I woke up at 6AM the first morning of the retreat for some reason, so I decided to do what I used to do, Mind you, this was in March and in Manitoba, so it was still dark outside and I didn't want to go sit outside in the cold and in the dark. I ended up sitting on the steps of the lodge for a while and I watched the sun come up. I experienced the same kind of peace that I had known previously at camp before a hectic day. (I lived in the city for the past two years and let me tell you, peace and quiet in the city is almost non-existent. I really cherished this moment at camp.)
What I have just written about isn't even the kind of peace I wanted to write about, though the two are closely related. Imagine the peace found near the lake at camp and put it on the inside. That's what I want to talk about, the kind of peace you experience on the inside: God's peace.
Have you ever asked people to pray for you in a certain situation that's going on in your life? Whether it be for work, school, family, friends, finances, faith, or relationships. People are always talking about how they want to see answers to their prayers, or how they saw their prayers impact someone's life, or how they prayed to see a change in someone's life. What some fail to remember is that not all answers to prayer are things you can see.
Recently, I had been having a not-so-good day. I was at school in the city and I was feeling weighted down by the pressures of life. My friends and I have a continuous group chat going on our phones and most of the time it's used to send funny pictures or tell stories about our days, but from time to time, we used it as a means to communicate our prayer requests and such to one another. So on this particular day, I sent off a vague request for prayer and my friends responded fairly quickly that they would indeed pray.
Now I know that sometimes when people say they are praying for you, they don't actually pray for you, but I also know that God does not require physically spoken words in order to hear our prayers. Anyway, I knew I was being prayed for one way or another. I had never before in my life actually felt the difference, but this time I did.
Now, the pressures of life that I was feeling and experiencing before I asked for prayer didn't just magically go away. In fact, it's kind of hard to explain what exactly I felt. This is what I wrote in my journal later that day: "I definitely wasn't all better suddenly, but there was a change. A noticeable change. I wasn't miraculously better, but I felt... lighter. Like I wasn't the only one carrying the load anymore."
What I experienced on my not-so-good day was what I think the peace of God feels like. There's a noticeable calmness or stillness inside that just simple wasn't there before.
After writing all this, I must admit that I'm not entirely sure whether this was more about the peace of God or the internal power of prayer, but I'll leave you off with a few things to chew on:
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (1 Peter 5:7)
Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. (James 5:13,16)
Until next time,
J
P.S. My friends are wonderful, thank you so much for all your prayers.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Monday, May 11, 2015
Spinning Plates: A Short Story
Spinning Plates: A Short Story
She had a dream one night that she was on a stage surrounded with spinning plates on wires, sort of something you would see on an old episode of Ed Sullivan. Her job was to keep the plates spinning, making sure that none of them hit the ground. She was running around fixing the wires constantly so the plates would keep on spinning. None of them could wobble, none of them could fall.
She was exhausted from all the running. She couldn't take it anymore, the fatigue was too great. She collapsed on the floor and blacked out.
When she awoke from her fainting, she expected to see all the plates broken on the floor, but instead she saw a man. And the plates were still spinning. The man came toward her and said, "Come now, let's go sit in the audience seats for a while." He helped her up and started guiding her to a seat.
"I can't sit down," she said, "I need to make sure the plates keep spinning. I don't want them to fall, I can't afford for them to break."
"Nonsense," the man told her, "you sit down and rest. I'll make sure they don't fall."
They sat down together in the front row of audience seats. They watched the plates spin together. Some of them wobbled a bit, which made her very nervous, but the man would lift his hands in their direction and it would become steady again.
Suddenly, they heard a loud crash from the far left of the stage. A plate had fallen to the ground, but luckily had not broken. She sprung off her seat and ran towards it. The man followed close behind. "Oh no," she said, examining the plate in her hands, "this plate's got a chip in it."
The man examined it as well. "You're right, but it's okay, the plate will still spin." They held the plate together, placed it back on the wire, and spun it.
Another crash sounded at the far right of the stage. She went running toward where the sound was and gazed upon the shattered plate in front of her. She knelt down and cried. "What am I going to do? What am I going to do? I've failed. The plate is broken. What now?"
The man started picking up the shattered pieces. "Oh well, we'll just have to glue all the pieces back together, won't we?"
"That's impossible," she replied through her tears, "even if we could pick up all the tiny little pieces, there's no way the plate could spin again. There's no point."
"Nothing is impossible." The man started to glue the pieces back together, one by one. Feeling a bit more encouraged, she helped the man with the pieces and the glue.
Soon the plate was back together. Sure, there were cracks and some chips missing, but at least it was together. "Come on now, let's see if it will spin." The man held the plate up to her and she took the other side. "Okay, on three. 1...2...3."
They spun the plate on the wire and sure enough, it kept spinning.
She had a dream one night that she was on a stage surrounded with spinning plates on wires, sort of something you would see on an old episode of Ed Sullivan. Her job was to keep the plates spinning, making sure that none of them hit the ground. She was running around fixing the wires constantly so the plates would keep on spinning. None of them could wobble, none of them could fall.
She was exhausted from all the running. She couldn't take it anymore, the fatigue was too great. She collapsed on the floor and blacked out.
When she awoke from her fainting, she expected to see all the plates broken on the floor, but instead she saw a man. And the plates were still spinning. The man came toward her and said, "Come now, let's go sit in the audience seats for a while." He helped her up and started guiding her to a seat.
"I can't sit down," she said, "I need to make sure the plates keep spinning. I don't want them to fall, I can't afford for them to break."
"Nonsense," the man told her, "you sit down and rest. I'll make sure they don't fall."
They sat down together in the front row of audience seats. They watched the plates spin together. Some of them wobbled a bit, which made her very nervous, but the man would lift his hands in their direction and it would become steady again.
Suddenly, they heard a loud crash from the far left of the stage. A plate had fallen to the ground, but luckily had not broken. She sprung off her seat and ran towards it. The man followed close behind. "Oh no," she said, examining the plate in her hands, "this plate's got a chip in it."
The man examined it as well. "You're right, but it's okay, the plate will still spin." They held the plate together, placed it back on the wire, and spun it.
Another crash sounded at the far right of the stage. She went running toward where the sound was and gazed upon the shattered plate in front of her. She knelt down and cried. "What am I going to do? What am I going to do? I've failed. The plate is broken. What now?"
The man started picking up the shattered pieces. "Oh well, we'll just have to glue all the pieces back together, won't we?"
"That's impossible," she replied through her tears, "even if we could pick up all the tiny little pieces, there's no way the plate could spin again. There's no point."
"Nothing is impossible." The man started to glue the pieces back together, one by one. Feeling a bit more encouraged, she helped the man with the pieces and the glue.
Soon the plate was back together. Sure, there were cracks and some chips missing, but at least it was together. "Come on now, let's see if it will spin." The man held the plate up to her and she took the other side. "Okay, on three. 1...2...3."
They spun the plate on the wire and sure enough, it kept spinning.
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