{"id":239,"date":"2011-05-23T10:49:00","date_gmt":"2011-05-23T10:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2011\/05\/the-peace-of-christ-is-real\/"},"modified":"2016-10-10T11:51:56","modified_gmt":"2016-10-10T15:51:56","slug":"the-peace-of-christ-is-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2011\/05\/the-peace-of-christ-is-real.html","title":{"rendered":"The Peace of Christ is Real"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Between packing, moving, and getting settled in Texas, I\u2019m going to be extremely busy this week and next<\/i>, so I\u2019ve asked a few of my best blogging buddies to pinch-hit for me. This first guest post is brought to you by the irrepressible Dwija of House Unseen, Life Unscripte<\/a>d. \u00a0<\/i>If you<\/i> haven\u2019t made it over to her blog yet, you must go! She is an absolute delight, whether she\u2019s regaling you with tales of Wal-Mart-ing in rural Michigan <\/a>or describing the ways their family was shown Christ\u2019s love during their journey.<\/a>\u00a0 And for all you Groundhogs out there (because let\u2019s be honest, that should be our mascot. Who among us identifies with a Crusader? A Groundhog, though. We can get down with that.), she\u2019s also a UD alum. So read this lovely post, drop her a comment letting her know that you appreciate her visiting us, and then skip over to her blog and get to know her! <\/i><\/p>\n

***<\/div>\n

As you probably know by now, when I\u2019m presented with a challenging circumstance, when the road gets a little bumpy and the things aren\u2019t going the way I wish they would, I clam up.\u00a0 I need time to process the valleys of life.\u00a0 The peaks\u2026well, I shout those out eagerly!\u00a0 Like yesterday, for example, with my celebration of the awesomeness of total strangers<\/a>.\u00a0 Today, on the other hand, is different.\u00a0 Today I\u2019m ready to share something with you that was, or perhaps should have been, more difficult to celebrate.<\/p>\n

On the Friday before Mother\u2019s Day, my husband was laid off.<\/p>\n

Now see, if I had posted this the day before Mother\u2019s Day or the day after Mother\u2019s Day, there would have been many condolences and true sadness and real concern from all of you, my dear friends, both those I know in flesh and those whom I\u2019ve come to know and treasure over the past few months.\u00a0 There was absolutely no way that I was going to saddle any of you with that worry.\u00a0 If my friends were less empathetic or we had another real source of income then I might have considered it, but they aren\u2019t and we don\u2019t, so I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

He had actually come home early from work that Friday, with a six pack in his hand and a smile on his face.\u00a0 I knew something was up.\u00a0 But I didn\u2019t ask him outright and he didn\u2019t tell me outright, because he also needs a little time to process things, and if we were both processing it at the same time, well\u2026that might not have been good.\u00a0 In fact, it would certainly have been bad.\u00a0 Better one at a time, truly.<\/p>\n

So Friday and Saturday passed, with every suggestion by me that I ought to get to the store before he took the car again on Monday being shrugged off by him nonchalantly.\u00a0 And then on Sunday, Mother\u2019s Day, as we sat around the breakfast table before leaving for church, I insisted, emphatically, that it didn\u2019t matter if it was Mother\u2019s Day.\u00a0 We had <\/i>to go to the grocery store after Mass.\u00a0 End of discussion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell\u201d he said, \u201cI have sort of a surprise for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pause.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, I don\u2019t have to go to work on Monday.\u00a0 Or ever.\u00a0 Yeah, so, the car will be here and\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cYay\u2026.?\u201d, he suggested cautiously with an apologetic smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cUh, are you serious?\u201d<\/p>\n

And of course, he was.\u00a0 The contract that he\u2019d been hired to help fulfill had fallen through.\u00a0 No contract means no money means no work.<\/p>\n

I hope you\u2019ll know what I mean when I say I distinctively felt the pivotal nature of that moment.\u00a0 Or better, I felt the pivotal nature of my reaction to that moment.\u00a0 I could have choosen to be sad , disappointed, worried, or worst of all, angry.\u00a0 If I had gone down any of those paths, most people would consider my response justified.\u00a0 But would it have been?\u00a0 Would it have made my family any more joyful or peaceful?\u00a0 Would it have improved my relationship with my husband?\u00a0 Would it give him his job back?\u00a0 Clearly, the answer to each of those is \u201cno\u201d.<\/p>\n

So I took a deep breath and nodded my head.\u00a0 I forced a smile.\u00a0 \u201cWell, it\u2019s not like it paid all that much and you certainly weren\u2019t enjoying yourself.\u201d\u00a0 The look of pure relief that came over my husband when he heard those simple words was undeniable.\u00a0 I knew he had been nervous, maybe even a little afraid.\u00a0 Probably a whole lot sorry, even though there\u2019s nothing he could have done.\u00a0 He wanted nothing more than to make me happy, but he had no choice but to tell me truth.<\/p>\n

Remember my struggle with worry<\/a>?\u00a0 My tendency to let myself fall into despair?\u00a0 Ever since I admitted that to all of you and committed myself to trusting Jesus the way my sweet little girl trusts me, <\/i>the calm I\u2019ve been able to enjoy has been nothing short of incredible.\u00a0 That morning, Mother\u2019s Day, as I stood next to my husband at Mass, I felt no fear.\u00a0 There was not a trace of concern in my heart.\u00a0 Not a bit of frustration.\u00a0 No anger and no animosity.<\/p>\n

I stood there with my dear husband and my four children and was instead overwhelmed with joy.\u00a0 I almost couldn\u2019t contain myself.\u00a0 I wanted to tell everyone I saw.\u00a0 I wanted to holler it from the rafters.\u00a0 I want everyone I\u2019ve ever known to know it.\u00a0 And if you already know it, come on and shout it with me.\u00a0 The peace of Christ is real<\/i>! He is always there, ready to give it to us.\u00a0 It\u2019s just so \u201cunderstandable\u201d to deny Him at those pivotal moments.\u00a0 But don\u2019t deny Him.\u00a0 Soften your heart.\u00a0 Banish the fear.\u00a0 Take the peace that it is rightfully yours and revel in a life of peace!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Between packing, moving, and getting settled in Texas, I\u2019m going to be extremely busy this week and next, so I\u2019ve asked a few of my best blogging buddies to pinch-hit for me. This first guest post is brought to you by the irrepressible Dwija of House Unseen, Life Unscripted. \u00a0If you haven\u2019t made it over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1110,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Peace of Christ is Real<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Between packing, moving, and getting settled in Texas, I'm going to be extremely busy this week and next, so I've asked a few of my best blogging buddies\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/barefootandpregnant\/2011\/05\/the-peace-of-christ-is-real.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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