Peacefulness and Thankfulness

All I hear is the gentle ticking of the clock.  It's a constant reminder of the one in my parents' living room: if I were to close my eyes, I could imagine myself there.

It's almost completely silent besides the clock this morning.  9:30 on a Sunday, I'm up, my husband is still asleep on the other side of the wall.  Curiously, I notice that I'm filled with an inner peace.  I've felt it before, but not for a while, or at least I haven't been aware of it for some time.  There's no worrying, no frustration, no distress.


Thank you God.

I'm content with my life, with who I am, with the way things are.  The silence makes me peaceful, too.  I know there are dishes in the sink and church clothes to decide on, but that's okay.  There's no rush this morning.

It's nice, this feeling that everything is all right with the world.  I don't always feel this way.  Sometimes the worry takes over, my imagination running wild with "what if"s.  And I destroy my own inner peace.  I know why.  It's because I try to figure everything out for myself, by myself.  I don't always have to understand the why's or how's.  This contentment that I feel?  It's a "peace that surpasses understanding."  The Holy Spirit doesn't think like I do.  He doesn't let worry get in his way.  He has the ability to snuff anxiety out like a tiny candle, and replace it with this gentle, comfortable, relaxing feeling--my breathing is even and slow, my features are relaxed, my stomach is knot-less, and no unhappy thought is filling my head.

This is what happens when I let God take control of my life.  Trying to do it myself never really works.  God's much better at handling my life than I am.  If only I could remember that all the time: give in to this sweet surrender, let Him take care of everything, every day.

Every morning could feel like this, with the Spirit filling my home and my heart.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:6-7

"Your beauty...should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth to God." -1 Peter 3:3a & 4