sometimes peace breaks through

I don’t know how to make sense of our world: the division and the pain that almost feels like it is in everything now: the weather that is crying out that climate change is real; the squawking-ringing-bleeping sounds that come from all our communication devices, letting us know when a tweet or post has disparaged someone, or exposed the latest horrific thing that has been done by some country or its rulers; the latest minute by minute analysis of the upcoming election; or the variety of ads selling us the next most important thing that we have to have, begging us to pay attention to the new sparkly thing, rather than other people, our relationships, and the earth. Each day I struggle with the sounds and the feelings of brokenness, and see so many people going through similar feelings and struggles. I want to put on a happy face and tell everybody it’s all going to be just fine. The problem with that is that then find myself wanting to get out of my car and yell at the person who just cut me off in the parking lot, or start screaming at the TV or my husband the next time I hear news that pisses me off. Ask my husband what I was like after the Kavanaugh hearings, on second thought--let's not go there.

But somehow, as impossible as it seems, in the midst of all that brokenness, peace still breaks through. Yes, I know that sounds like I’m putting a happy face on again. I’m not. But I am starting to notice and write down the moments that bring peace in the midst of the storm. Here is one:

I ran into friend at a music gathering a few days ago. We both talked about how acutely we are feeling the pain of the world and how broken everything seemed. She has a wonderful heart, and expressed how deeply disturbing some of the events in the news, the divisions in our country and the loss of compassionate and empathetic conversations are. But even as we talked of pain I could feel it lift a bit, and I felt a peace just standing there with her. As I look back on the conversation, it feels like we were two birds, each fighting the wind of a shattering storm by ourselves, thinking we were unable to get anywhere, and landing on the same tree. After being in that safe spot for a short time, I realized my wings weren’t broken, just seriously ruffled, they still work. I don’t know where the storm will lead us, but I think both of us were able to face it a little bit better after a moment of rest with a kindred spirit.

Have you experienced a moment that brought peace in the midst of the storms in our world these days? If so, please let me know, post it here, or contact me. We all need to hear about moments of peace and hope these days. At least I know I do.