Peace

1 Peter 3: 8-11
"Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it."

These past two weekends i have been working at Forest Home, and our theme was about being a "Peace maker." We discussed what it is to be a peace maker, and how in reality a lot of us are either "Peace Fakers" (saying that everything is fine and not resolving anthing) or "Peace Breakers" (making drama out of the situation and creating more problems). It is so great that even as we teach these things to the kids, and to the CCAs, we can learn from it as well. I found myself searching my own heart and my own life. I want to pursue peace. I want to live in harmony and be compassionate. I want to live out these verses from 1 Peter.

Here is another verse that we talked about.
Romans 12:18
"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."
Think about that... it depends on ME! It depends on ME to get along and live at peace with EVERYONE. Wow.

Lately there have been different situations that have come up in my relationships with others and it is VERY hard to be a "Peace Maker" in them. I find myself wanting to get defensive... to send that mean text message back... to point the finger and place blame... be a TOTAL "Peace Breaker." And then i "Fake" it and say, "Don't worry about it... no big deal... i'll be fine!" When in my mind i am simply HURT and want to throw a fit.

All this to say, i want to PURSUE that PEACE in my relationships. Hopefully, starting now, i will be able to look back on these weekends... remember these verses... and be encouraged. It's OK to have the tough conversations. It's OK to have to be the bigger person. And it's OK to HURT... cuz it's all in the Lords plan, and He has a much bigger purpose than i could ever imagine.

Proverbs 19:21
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."