May the soft light of peace warm you today.
Since this second week of Advent’s theme is peace, I’ve been trying to figure out ways I can introduce even a little bit of peace throughout my days.
In my mornings. I have a fair amount of peace during the couple hours I’m awake and the house is quiet. The challenge, however, is retaining the peace after the boys wake up. Those next couple hours often make it difficult to feel peaceful. It’s the same every morning. My husband and I reminding them over and over to finish breakfast, to get dressed, to stop getting distracted by toys and long-winded stories and hundreds of curious questions. Then hustling them into the car only to run back in for masks and belts and lost jackets.
Soon the boys and I are on the road where I again try to regain some peace as they fling around toy dinosaurs and make their imaginations come to life. They still don’t know what indoor (or in-car) voices mean. Inevitably someone will fight with someone else and I’ll hear “Mommmmmy….. so and so hit me!” Then, we arrive at school where I again launch into multiple reminders to get out of the car, grab their water bottles and masks, and stop playing already!
Needless to say, mornings are loud and stressful. So how can I grab onto the peace I had before the world woke up? How can I let it seep in and warm my heart today?
Maybe I can catch it in the small things if I’m paying close attention.
Like the soft twinkle of light I see when one kid randomly hugs me tight when he’s supposed to be finding his belt. Or the glimmer that comes when another flashes me his goofy smile and tells me a joke that makes no sense but still causes a laugh. Or the beam that shines when I pause at a red light and see three boys dreaming up their dinosaur world (that somehow also has Pokémon and superheroes and snakes) in my rear view mirror.
Peaceful moments do exist, even in the chaos! They can be small or big, but you’ll know them when you feel your body relax and the tension in your shoulders ease if only for the briefest of seconds.
May God grace you with peace in abundance today, one small moment at a time.⠀
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