Keep the Peace

As an American I think it’s important to be educated and informed. I read articles about what’s happening in government, and in our country, socially. I watch the news regularly and follow many news outlets on social media. This being an important election year, and also a year of hardship on many levels for most people, as we navigate through the crazy Pandemic year, I became immersed in all of the above mentioned. I found myself obsessed with watching my favorite news programs, so as not to miss any great commentary or any new developments. It matters to me what the men and women who are wanting to run our life in America are planning and doing, and what they think about the issues. We should all be “in the know.” It is our country, after all, and we shouldn’t be ignorant.

Here’s where the “but” comes in, but what I found in all of this immersing, was a shift in my peace, and it wasn’t for the better. I found myself feeling angry and highly opinionated about politics and the people in Politics and every other aspect of what is going on in our county during this trying time. Politics, social issues, and pandemic news began seeping into everyday conversations. I felt out of balance.

I pray regularly and do my best to soak my soul in the Word of God, but what I found through this political season is the fact that it was getting harder to do that spiritual soaking. Why? why would something so precious to me become harder for me to do? I think the answer to that question is easy to find and there is an easy fix, if you too, find yourself in this place of being out of balance.

The answer to how this fall into imbalance happens is simply the trap of preoccupation, which basically means a subject or matter that engrosses someone. Engrossed or immersed, it’s basically the same thing and I was there, becoming the political and social know-it-all in the sea of all the talking-heads. I didn’t like it. I began to miss the quiet. The simple. The more important.

There’s only so much room in my brain; and what I let consume my thinking is what brings peace and power, or not, to my way of thinking and living. We are people of a multi task era, we can do many things at one time in our lives. We have many avenues of thought, and many avenues in which we put energy, however we can also become so loaded down with information and worldly negativity that it robs us of our joy and our peace, no matter what kind of political or social season we’re facing in our world.

We are fully capable of staying informed with the political and social realms of life without letting it consume us. Some people do that very well, most of the time. And some do not. I’m somewhere in the middle. I do well with all the avenues, but as I mentioned it was getting me down.

So, what is the fix? Turn it off! The world won’t collapse if you turn your tv and phone off.

If you have found yourself feeling angry, down, anxious or just simply annoyed, my challenge to you my friend, is to take the last part of this weird and difficult year of 2020 and turn off the chatter. Let go of the politics for the season, turn off the cell phone notifications , turn off the tv and rest. Rest your mind, dive into a good book like ‘You Can’t See My Bodyguard’ by yours truly (wink). Make some coffee dates, read your Bible, listen to music, set the table and have some nice meals with family and friends. It’s amazing how a little more time with Jesus in His Word and a little more quiet time in your home with family and friends can brighten your outlook, and improve the peace factor in your heart.

Keeping the balance isn’t as hard as it may seem. Make the decision to create your peaceful, God filled environment today and remember the familiar scripture that says:

“Finally my brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. ” Phil. 4:8