Living in Peace

Processing

Trying to wrap my mind around a recent thought... And I need to do some processing. How do you process things? I am a classic external processor. I mean, nothing makes a lot of sense in my head until I get it out. I either need to write about what I'm thinking or talk about with someone. It doesn't work to just say it out loud; I have to have someone listening and giving feedback. My favorite people to process with are my family, and a few incredibly close friends. I've been processing with Alli for as long as I can remember about everything from my first kiss to my career. Of course, I process with my husband Jack, (he's my person) and there are also a few people that I trust and value their perspective on any subject. Currently, I'm processing this idea, found in Colossians 3, about interacting with and just doing life with other people.

The message version of Col. 3:15 - 17 says, "Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ - the Message - have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives - words, actions, whatever - be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God every step of the way."

There is SO much in that passage, but I have just been thinking about the first few lines, "Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other." What does that even mean? How does it break down in day to day life? How do I obtain the peace of Christ, and how does having that peace keep me in tune with the people around me? Speaking of the people around me...

If I could choose to be surrounded by these people every day, all day, I would. My family. I just got to go home to Tulsa for my spring break. More on that later. They are amazing! Each one of these people adds something wonderful to my life. But even still, staying in step with each other, with them, and with other people in my life, does not always come naturally. It requires something outside of myself. 

It requires a supernatural peace. Peace that is not based on natural circumstances, but based on God's goodness, on His plan. Operating out of that peace sets me free of the need to defend myself, be right, prove my point, go my own way, or assert my thoughts and ideas over someone else's. 

To me that peace means being aware of God's presence in the normal day to day and considering that NOTHING can separate me from His overwhelming, amazing, unbelievable love. (Romans 8:39) Even when things are difficult. Allowing the peace of God to keep me in step with those around me means, in my opinion, letting the Holy Spirit guide and direct my thoughts and actions in such a way that is others oriented. Not easy, but worth it. These people, my family and also my friends, they are gifts that God's given me, but I am not equipped to handle these relationships on my own. I need Jesus. Every day. 

Living real life, walking through the fun, hilarious moments as well as the difficult, heartbreaking ones, this is doing life together. The result is a community that fills me and overflows out of me... it is real, true, and SO good. The burst out laughs, the deep belly laughs, the laugh until tears roll down my face moments, these come out of really knowing and being known, and that is only possible if the peace of Christ keeps us in tune. Not easy, but completely worth it. 

Kind of a heavy post. What are your thoughts, and how do you live in peace with your family and friends? Hope you're surrounded by people who know you and love you! 

xo, The Attic