- Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus
I have always been an anxious sort. I'm a perfectionist, people pleasing, type A. I'm a perceiving and sensitive person to a fault. My environment always effects me. Because of this I'm always trying to feel out what is going on around me to prevent conflict or control the environmental factors to stay at peace in myself. Talk about impossible! And the perfectionist, dials up the anxiety to a whole other level.
The reason this experience with God has changed me so drastically is because I have PEACE. All the time kind of peace, through Anything. This is unheard of for a person like me. You could ask 3 decades of people who knew me or know me and they would vouch, that I am, or was, easily agitated and very effected by my surroundings. Even my mother would say I came into the world stressed, because I had colic for 3 months. I'm honestly surprised I'm still here after how my mom describes the sleepless nights and my inconsolable screaming for hours. :)
After that morning in Dec., my heart is at rest! Even through the bad stuff. I never had the confidence to share Jesus with anyone before this, because I couldn't figure out why my life as a Christian was any different from anyone else in the world trying to do good. "So what? I believe in God... is that any different from believing in Santa Clause or Fairy God Mother?" I thought. But I didn't really believe.... I didn't trust that this God really loved me and was who He said He was. That morning, I dared to believe He really was a God that loved me and had the power to save me!
Now I have something to share! Now I get it! The switch in my heart has been flipped! I now know why true Christians are different! There are so ways, but the one that made the difference for me was Peace Beyond Understanding.
And I hope you realize that it has been a bit of time from that Dec. 2012 morning. And I am pleased to report, this peace lives on in my heart EVERY DAY! Yes I said EVERY DAY! For any of you anxious type A sisters out there, you know what a miracle that is! Its like spending your whole life trying to breath with a paper bag over your head and then suddenly its removed and you can Breath!
Obviously my life is not perfect and I still get sad about things in my life, but I'm not afraid anymore. As long as I turn my face to God every day, peace lives on.
This has been tested in a huge way over the last year. I was starting a life of prayer, praying every day for my family. And shortly after, a huge family fight broke out between my folks and my brother. It started a family rift that has been going on for over a year.
We live in the same neighborhood. I live up the street from my brother, and my folks live one street over. So there is no escaping this. My family is small. They are all I have. As a single chick with a small family, this kind of thing hits way hard. We were pretty tight knit. Grandparents taking kids to church and helping kids go to school and babysitting 1 to several day's in the week. Suddenly came to a screeching halt and major conflict.
It has gotten to the point that my folks don't go to church to avoid the kids and not upset my brother, and my brother forbids the kids to talk to their grandparents.
Normally I would be in shambles, my family is everything to me. But I have peace. It has made me press into God hard, but I know He is working. With new eyes I see His hand removing generations of bad communication and abuse from our family. It looks bad from the outside, but if God can change my anxious heart He can save my family. It is forcing all of us to rethink what is really important. And I still have peace.
God has carried me through some of the most difficult times through this whole thing. There has been moments I thought I was going to be excommunicated from one side or the other due to me trying to keep bringing the kids to church. But my loving God carries me and is pulling my family to Him through this experience. I still have peace.
After He is crucified and raised from the dead, Jesus Says to His disciples, showing Himself to them for the first time. "Peace be with you!" John 20:19 He says it twice actually, and the breaths the Holy Spirit on them so they can tell and show the world His great love!
So this single girl, is telling you, whoever you are, on this day of Jesus Resurrection, You can have Peace! Real Peace beyond your understanding EVERY DAY! The kind that sets you free from anxiety and fear and gives you new breath, (the Holy Spirit), from God! Even in the most trying times. You can have a New Life Full Of Peace! Don't we all need that?
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