“For everything we desire in life, we must give up something else. What is price we are willing to pay for peace?
Some of us say we want to run to a desert island, leaving behind all our worries and tribulations. But we cannot find peace by running away from life. Others of us are willing to let the world have its way with us. We acquiese to the demands and manipulations of others in order to avoid conflict and confrontation. But avoidance of trouble does not result in peace. Others of us seek peace by altering the external circumstances of our lives, yet even this will not bring us peace.
Where, then, can we find peace? The source of our peace lies within. It is there for us to tap, regardless of life circumstances. Peace comes from within or not at all…
Peace does not come with the removal of external problems, but with the internal awareness that we are not alone as we face them. With God in us, we can cope with whatever comes our way.
The absense of anxiety and fear is not peace. An easy and harmless life is not peace. Pease is ours in the midst of trouble. It overcomes us amid chaos and indecision when we realize that we are in the care of God. Peace comes when we recognize the hand that holds ours, even in the darkness. Peace is knowing in the depths of our soul that we are not alone. The external is always with us.
Peace comes to us when we place our hope beyond ourselves, our limitations, and our helplessness. Peace comes from union with God. To let God live through us is to do God’s will, and to do God’s will is to live in peace.”
- excerpt from “Through the Darkness, Glimmers of Hope” by Adolfo Quezada
