Peace as a weapon.
Now that is an oxymoron. Coming from a pacifist, which I am, it is almost funny.
Anxiety is a troublesome neighbour, one I’d like to banish from the corners of my mind. I know I’m not alone, and indeed there is great sadness at recent tragedies in our world. With social media and awareness, we are much more affected by the happenings in our world.
It is flu season, and many are sick. We are aware of new threats of serious viruses that travel the globe on the wings of unsuspecting passengers.
I can be prone to anxiety. Last night, listening to my husband cough, reviewing troubling thoughts, I couldn’t sleep. It annoyed me, this falling prey to worry, and nighttime seems to magnify the darkness.
I finally gave up and got up. I’ve been writing out verses of peace and find this exercise helpful, calming. It changes my focus. I wrote a number of them in my journal, and then came upon this one from Psalm 4:8:
i took it to heart and went back to bed and slept.
Perhaps, instead of using the word weapon, I could use the word antidote. Peace is a good antidote for anxiety and worry. Like vitamins on my shelf, I need to take doses daily, in large amounts!
In this world we will have trouble, Jesus said, so the struggle is real. Life can feel jagged. I’m grateful for the gift of peace, which I pray will fill me more and more. Our hearts can be a dwelling place of fear and anxiety, and need to be cleaned regularly, just like a good dusting.
i wrote this poem the other day which also reflects the struggle with worry:
WORRY
I can get myself in a dither
and worry can meander
around my brain.
It is a pain
as I concentre
It seems to accentuate,
and especially exaggerate,
even exacerbate
The pain,
which like rain
comes again.
This is a condition
built on superstition,
fed by fear
that comes by here.
You have no place,
I need some grace
to shift the gears,
to wipe the tears.
I breath in peace!
It is relief.
I breathe in Love
comes from above
and wraps my heart
with comfort, strength
to face the day
in a renewed way.
O grant me courage to quench the fears,
to banish worry, with all its tears.
To live at peace, without, within,
a new day is about to begin.
Peace is a gift. It is a practice. It is an antidote, it is a way of life. And perhaps at times we can use the word picture of a weapon, pull it out of our arsenal and banish worry. So there!
