Peace

There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror, for peaceful towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell and in which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the King looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest... perfect peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize?

The King chose the second picture. Do you know why? "Because," explained the King, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."

If there were a hurricane where you are right now, things would be spinning, whirling, and flying around. But if you could get to the center of the hurricane there would be absolute quiet and calm. This is a good analogy for life.

When your life is spinning, whirling, and flying around, GET TO YOUR CENTER...and we do that by going within to the presence of God within each of us. We connect with our Source and there is absolute quiet and calm.

When a storm blows through our world, most of us panic and look for cover. It's as if our minds go numb. We may feel lost, isolated, separated from God. So how can we survive life's storms?

Remember to get to the center...that's where the peace, the quiet, and the calm are. That's where Spirit is. Take a deep breath and connect to Spirit. You'll be safe as the storm passes.

I'm holding the high watch!
Rev. Donna