I have anxiety disorder so peace can feel especially elusive. This second week of advent is good practice for remembering that peace comes in lots of ways. The reading for this week that Rhonda selected for our advent conversation on Tuesdays was about turbulence and how we lean in to trust when things are bumpy. The author of this beautiful reflection, John Pavolvitz has been struggling in the wake of the election. His social media posts have been full of grief and even anger. Reading his words on how to center in trust during strife while remembering his most recent posts is a good reminder that peace is not a static state. We all have times of despair and sorrow. We all experience turbulence. And sometimes we find paths to center in trust that God is with us. And other times we need to rage to weep. Perhaps even this is peace, that we can decry cruelty and lament together because we know God has a better way for us. That anxiety and grief don’t have to be the opposite of peace, but means to show us that the world is not as God imagined us to be. We wouldn’t long for justice if we had no idea of what a just world might be. And this ultimately means we trust in God that there is something more than this, something better.
So look for peace deep in the center of that anxiety, worry, & grief. What is it telling you about God’s vision for you and for the world?
May we all find paths to peace and know that in it all God is with us.
-Eilidh
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