An Interview with a Younger Me:

Note: I love to pour through my old paper (imagine that!) journals from time-to-time, and this one struck me.  I want to get back to this place of inner-peace and of reconnecting with God through silence and nature.  I think the 18-year-old me was much more Franciscan than the 31-year-old me…and I didn’t even KNOW of St. Francis back then!  🙂

Saturday, June 16, 2001: Merrowvista, New Hampshire

International Youth Leadership Conference

What does it mean to be at peace with myself?

Being at peace with myself means accepting who I am, what I have become, and what I possess; it means not only accepting these things, but loving all of them.  Being at peace with myself means making the most of my life, in every situation.

Am I at peace with who I am? 

Yes and no.  I love my sense of humor and my compassion for others.  I accept and hope to use the talents the Lord has blessed me with, but I wish I was more pure, more loving, and more Christ-like.

Where do I feel the most peace and with whom?

I feel the most peace: in Wilsonville (in the country), in the middle of a worship service, and in the mountains.

I feel the most peace when I am with: Jesus, my best friends, and Deaf people.

Today, I feel as though I’ve grown more close to God than I have in quite some time.  We have spent most of the day in silence, reflecting on our God, our world, and our inner-selves.  I feel refreshed and energized.

Lord, as I sit on the front porch of this old, wooden, New Hampshire farmhouse and look up into the wooded mountains, I close my eyes and hear the melodies of nature.  I hear birds chirping, the buzz of flies and bees, and the breeze cools me.  I feel peace in this quiet place.  God, I thank You for your greatness and I praise you for the simplicity of nature.  This week, I ask that you completely rejuvenate my spirit.  Give me child-like faith again, divine favor with everyone I come in contact with, purity of mind, and make me like You.  Be with my friends and family today.  Show them Your ways and draw us all closer to you.  Increase my territory and bless me indeed.  I love you, Jesus.

To Risk

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out for another is to risk exposing our true self.

To place ideas–our dreams–before the crowd is to risk loss.

To love is to risk being loved in return.

To hope is to risk failure.

To live is to risk dying.

–Anonymous

I wonder if we could all learn a little something from our younger selves.  What do you think?