Thursday, November 13, 2014

Be At Peace

    He said, she said, we said, and they said, all went to town on a summer's day. Sitting in the back of the wagon, spirits began a dragin' until tongues they commenced to waggin', and the journey went downhill from aye.   
   Ever notice how things go?  It can be something that IS said, or something that IS NOT said.  It can be a look, or not looking at all.  Have you ever tried to make someone happy who is determined to be angry?
   The day is steamy.  Sweat drips down my face, and I'm just sitting still...in the house...I'm hot, and tired, and no matter what the kids do...
   "I'm hot and miserable, and I'm determined that everyone else will be too!"  I  tell the kids, and we laugh.  It lightens the moment and we make it through the day knowing 'it's the heat' and we just need to 'chill out'.  If we back off and give each other some space...things will be fine.  
   "Well, you couldn't make that person happy if you whacked 'em with a new stick!"  This is true with some folks.
  When we were growing up some of our adult   neighbors were friendly enough but their youngsters were a different critter.
      Those were the days when walking wasn't thought of as an affliction.  The neighbor kids would walk by our house on their way to visit their grandpa who lived about a mile away on the other side of us.  Our dog was a good mannered German Shepherd.  However, Like most living things he never liked being teased. 
   We tied our dog, Rocky, on a long lead when we went to town.  When we returned from town we could tell if the neighbor kids had walked by when we were gone.  We lived on a gravel road, and we would find rocks that had been pitched at the dog.  He never did like being teased...and he never did like those kids. 
   Matthew 7:12  All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets. 
      Funny how we perceive or judge things.  If you don't like the exact things someone else likes, that doesn't make you a bad person. 
Drama—too many people live in dramavilIe. Dramaville people are self-centered. Whether they think the world revolves around them or not, they at least WANT it to. They want to be the center of the universe. They connive to make it so.
That would create the opposite world of peaceful.  The ability to be thankful under easy or perverse situations is a good beginning on being at peace.  
   Romans 13:8  “Owe no man anything, save to love one another: for he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law.”
  Romans 12:16  “Be of the same mind one toward another. Set not your mind on high things, but condescend to things that are lowly. Be not wise in your own conceits. 17)  Render to no man evil for evil. Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men. 18)  If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men.”
Being at peace starts with self. A person must learn to give up self. When people stop trying to make life ‘all about them’, much of the drama fades away, and life becomes more simple, life becomes more peaceful—at least on the inside. Hallelujah, What a Savior.