Peace Be With You

“They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”

—Psalm 112:7

Peace... such a rarity in this world we live in. I crave it more than anything. If I had to choose between a diamond and peace, I would pick the latter. I do not remember the last time I had an uninterrupted night of peaceful sleep. If peace could be bought, I would be the first one to place an order, no matter the cost. 

Peace is the message of tomorrow’s gospel reading. “Peace be with you” (1) is how Jesus greets His disciples when He appears to them after His resurrection. He knows that they were lacking peace. Fear robbed them of their peace. 

It’s the same with us today. We live in constant fear. Fear of catching Covid-19. Fear of the vaccine. Fear of our political leaders. Fear of bad news. Fear of the future. Fear of everything. And this constant fear, keeps us awake at night and robs us of our peace. 

I am writing this while I am sitting at the spa getting a pedicure. My view is the ocean. The setting is peaceful and serene. And yet, instead of being relaxed and enjoying this moment, I’m doing a mental checklist of all I need to accomplish this weekend before I go back to work on Monday. If only I could empty my mind of worldly preoccupations and simply enjoy this hour. 

Too many thoughts interrupt me as I try to relax and concentrate on the beautiful view in front of me. I have been trying to deepen my prayer life by sharing each moment with God. But it’s so hard. I start praying and I get so easily distracted. As I start thanking Him for this beautiful view that I get a front row seat to enjoy, I remember that I need to add fabric softener to my grocery list because I’m running out of it. So what am I supposed to do? God must lose His patience with me when my prayer goes something like this:

“Dear Lord. Thank You for this beautiful world that You have given us. This ocean that I get to enjoy almost every week... Hold on, Lord. I just remembered I need fabric softener. Let me write it down before I forget... OK, I’m back... what were we talking about? Oh yes, the beautiful ocean...”

During Lent, I learned that our entire day can be turned into prayer by sharing everything with God. He wants us to talk to Him about our joys and sorrows, our happy moments and our sadness, our hopes and our fears... but does He really care that I am running low on fabric softener? I guess He does if He wants me to share everything with Him. 

“Peace be with you,” says the Lord. “Do not fear, for I am with You.” (2) I wish I could trust Him so completely that I could drop all my worries into His lap and feel the peace that I’m yearning for. But I am always so restless that I cannot even get myself to disconnect for just this hour that I get to spend at the spa. How then am I supposed to spend every minute of my day with Him?

God is peace. And He wants to share His peace with me. I just need to allow myself to be embraced by Him and His peace will overwhelm me. But for now, I have to finish writing my grocery list. 

Copyright © 2021 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.

References from the New International Version of the Bible:

1. Luke 24:36
2. Isaiah 41:10