Will we forget the news scene of the woman who lifted her hands in prayer near Boston's well-known square? It was moments after the Boston Marathon bombing. Medics were helping people on the pavement near the woman. She was standing, her back to the injured and their helpers. Seeing her in profile, I noticed her head lifted toward the heavens and her slender hands put together in prayer; she was doing what she could.
I do not like the fact that we are likely to live as a people who must deal with shocks of terror. How will we do it? Our grandsons knew people watching near the Finish line in Boston that day, young people changed from happy to frightened in an instant.
In recent years, the USA and Europe have seemed to be relatively safe from terrorists' acts. Then Boston; then London. Young men intent on "teaching others a lesson," "paying back for events of the past" and railing against governments appeared to be normal and innocent. In Boston, they walked unnoticed amid crowds of happy marathon watchers; in London, they walked unnoticed in a relatively quiet neighborhood. Recently, people similar to their victims were bombed near Kabul, foreigners who had gone to help those in need in that city.
How are we to live unbound by fears as individuals, families, nations and regions...wherever we are, in these days?
How are we to live unbound by fears as individuals, families, nations and regions...wherever we are, in these days?
Deliberate acts of terror can happen anywhere. For those who have not sought the peace of God yet, starting time is here. For any who have not prayed to Almighty God, it is time. This is important because we desire to have, in these times and conditions, a "peace that passes understanding." It is an inner peace that enables us to seek to settle our minds on the possibility, or maybe even the likelihood, that violence may happen near us or to us. To have peace with such knowledge whirling in our minds is the goal.
There is a peace that God gives that is possible, although it is unlike our ideas of peace. Our ideas mean that "nothing bad like this will happen again." We hope. The mental and spiritual peace that we need is unlike the peace of quiet or the peace of the absence of disagreement in the world The peace of God, being above and beyond the natural, is the highest, strongest, and most powerful peace. It enables us to live with inner peace while we keep our eyes open to dangers disguised as normal, friendly, sincere...and safe.
There is a peace that God gives that is possible, although it is unlike our ideas of peace. Our ideas mean that "nothing bad like this will happen again." We hope. The mental and spiritual peace that we need is unlike the peace of quiet or the peace of the absence of disagreement in the world The peace of God, being above and beyond the natural, is the highest, strongest, and most powerful peace. It enables us to live with inner peace while we keep our eyes open to dangers disguised as normal, friendly, sincere...and safe.
Lord, grant us Thy peace, which the world cannot give us or refused to give. We live in the open; we work; we take care of others; we love those closest to us. By Thy peace we seek to help all, including those outside the faith. We pray unceasingly for justice and for the end of anger, hatred, and all evil. We desire to see forgiveness in the world and the putting away of deeply guarded grievances. Lord, we desire Thy peace that overcomes the terrors that try to reside within us, whether we are children, grown ups, tribes, or nations. Amen.
Copyright (c) 2013 Opinari Writers.
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