Peace

John 14: 27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
Yesterday I watched Mei-Ling sleep in the crib we have here for her, while Melanie did some work on the computer. I stood in the doorway of the room and watched the slow steady breathing of this tiny person. In each of her hands a toy. Her little face, serene. There are times that she wakes crying, a bad dream, perhaps of some painful medical intervention....she has had many in her life already. But a quick hug and snuggle from mom chases all those fearful things away. As I watched her, I saw peace, real peace. Adults so often don't have peace on their faces, sleeping or awake. We worry, we stress, we take matters into our own hands at every turn, even when something should be left to faith.
People obsess about all sorts of things, silly things that don't matter in the long run. I once read that people obsess about things when they feel so out of control about their lives on the inside, so they try to maintain order anyway they can, even making others fit into the "slots" they have created for them. There is no peace in that. I watched a lady yesterday, standing in a line, trying to straighten all the magazines in the racks near her as she waited to be checked out at the store. Her forehead was crinkled as she tried to make everything so orderly around her, but her inner turmoil was obvious on her face and in her actions. She did not have peace on her face. This morning as I read this text, I thought about how the gift of peace is there for each of us...assurance that we can put our life in His hands and He will carry all the burdens for us.
Matthew 11:28 tells us...."Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." In that there is peace. It doesn't show much faith to constantly worry and fret about the things in life. If we have an open hand, receive freely the gift of peace, accept the willingness of Christ to bear all our burdens. Those things should give us all a life that is free of stressing out, of constantly trying to make order on the outside. When we accpet this gift of peace, we will have that peace that puts our inner life in order and worry finds no home within us.