Peace

Peace. I have it. Maybe, sometimes, it is misinterpreted as passivity. Maybe you define it as doubt. Regardless, somehow in life I've found a way to find peace when things aren't very stable.
I'm not sure when it happened, but since my early twenties, I've just been able to handle hurt, disappointment, sickness and tragedy very well. Today for example, my dad was in Hawaii when the tsunami was coming towards the island. I was concerned for him, but had a peace that regardless of the outcome, good or bad, that it was all o.k. When my wife Sarah was in the hospital in Alabama having major surgery, circumstances dictated that I needed to be in North Carolina. That was by far the hardest decision either of us has ever made, and trust me, I wanted to be in Alabama with her, but in the midst of the unknown, I had peace.

I guess it all boils down to the fact that God says that His plan for us is good. Yes, tragedy will happen. Yes, we will hurt and maybe even suffer. It's not going to be easy, but there is a peace, that regardless of the outcome, there is opportunity for us to come out of it stronger. I can't count the opportunities that I've had to completely break down or to even give up. It's been tough, but somehow, there was a peace that literally went beyond all understanding. If we can tap into that, there is nothing that we can't handle. Perhaps, it was this same peace that Jesus had when He prayed right before the betrayal and arrest: "Father, if it be your will, take this cup from Me, if not, not My will be done, but Yours be done.

Matthew 26: 36-45

36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Couldn't you men keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
42 He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"