Peace

This is what my brother-in-law Josh used to say all the time. It means something like, goodbye or stay cool. Contentment. 

Isn’t this the thing we long for the most?

Nothing that rocks the boat too much or makes people think you are different. 

Luke 10:4 says, “Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.”

I took this to mean that, as prepared as we like to be, things still may not pan out the way we planned.

Think about the bag you carry. For me, it’s a huge tote that I use as a purse, as well as diaper bag. For you, maybe it’s your backpack with your laptop. Maybe a little crossbody with just the necessities. 

Regardless, we have things in these bags that help us feel prepared. I’ve got makeup for touchups, a bottle of water, an array of toddler snacks and activities, hand sanitizer, old receipts, and usually a few crumbs or broken pieces of items I can no longer recall. 

It gets heavy. But I continuously lug it around- just in case. I’ve gotten used to looking inside and seeing all these things that feel so necessary. I spend time organizing them and arranging them, adding and subtracting the things within, just to have them jostle about as I move through the day.

I accept that the bag is heavy. I go out of my way to accommodate the bulky shape, taking up space in adjacent chairs, as not to place the bag on the floor.

Honestly, it just gets in the way most of the time. But still, I haul it around, giving it a priority really not meant for it. 

I’m sure there are times you would rather throw the whole thing away if it meant you could find some joy in the places you’re toting the bag to. Work. Home. Wherever. 

Always searching for peace. 

Maybe the way to get to that peace is to put down some of the pieces. 

The pieces you’ve been carrying around. The pieces you put away when you cleaned out your bag, that eventually made it back and began weighing you down again.

The pieces you zipped into the tiny side compartment that you just rediscovered when you were searching for something else.

The pieces that you know aren’t good for you, but you keep around anyway.

These pieces are taking away your peace. 

All you have to do is put down the bag. It feels like you won’t be prepared if you don’t have it. It feels like you might be caught off guard. It feels like you might be out of your comfort zone. 

Jesus doesn’t give Himself in pieces. When we make the decision to give Him the things that have been burdening us, He takes them and replaces them with grace and mercy.

He’s not judging the kind of bag you’re toting. He’s waiting on you to give Him the pieces in order for Him to make them whole again. To give you His peace. 

Josh was on to something. He ended his conversations that way, so I’ll end ours with this. As you head into another week, peace.

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Psalm 55:18 “He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many against me.”

Mark 4:39 “Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.”

2 Thessalonians 3:16 “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.”