Pioneering Peace… Secure your freedom in all things!!!

Peace is a time when there is freedom from disturbance and tranquility—also, a state or period in which there is no war or a war has ended.

Journey with Peace

There was a time when I misunderstood peace. In my early twenties, I understood peace as silence or separation. I would be at peace if I managed to shut out everything and everyone around me. I was at peace if I was not complaining or crying. If there is no one around me telling me I am doing something wrong or to show me a mirror. Then, I must be doing OK. Is this peace? Or was this fear of doing the work to acknowledge emotional emptiness?

My Truth

Upon reflection, my early twenties were also the time I was the most emotionally out of control! I was in steady spiritual combat with who I wanted to be and who God said I was. I learned that the warning signs occurred before the war began, before I sank into myself, or before I sank into a High Tide. Today, we all live high-stress lives in pursuit of goals, and maybe more if we have spouses and children. At any point, If I reach too far ahead, instead of working on the present, I begin to sink. I always feel like there are a million things that only I can do, and life, as we all know it, depends on its success or failure! Am I the only one who feels this way sometimes?

It is a heavy burden, but I believe we all have something to which we give more of our heart, even to our detriment! There was always a moment when God gave me a lifeline. There was also a moment when I chose to walk away and move alone! But once you are in the storm, or in that High Tide.

I am not talking; I suffocate until I come up for air! After telling God, “Hey, I got this,” I begged for help during my storm.

The Lord is faithful!

Reality

Finding your peace is an absolute. We have all learned to deal with the hard times. Life will come at you in the most challenging ways. Working forty, fifty, or sixty hours a week is overwhelming, but it is a part of life if you want to achieve your personal goals. Being a fully functioning adult and member of society is overwhelming, but it happens. We focus on making it through the week to relax for a day or two before we repeat the cycle.

As a whole, we fail to find peace and restore ourselves through our day-to-day cycles. Then, we continue running mentally, emotionally, and spiritually on empty. It is only a matter of time before we enter a state of high tide. I am explosively irritable when I have entered a space where I cannot find peace. The world has a way of knowing when you are drowning. And the world will pull you further in. Finding peace is still a struggle for me; I believe it is for most people. The who, what, when, where, how, and why of finding peace has been debilitating for me.

• Who am I to have peace
• What brings or can bring me peace
• When should I pursue peace
• Where do put it into practice
• How will my peace negatively affect my family
• Why do I deserve this

I do my best to find a spark of peace—a hug or giving and receiving positive words. I am learning to see happiness and joy in others and not be envious but find tranquility in those moments! What brings you peace?

Trust In the Lord

Colossians 3:12-15 (ESV) says, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all, these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”

The challenge for myself and anyone else is to understand that we are children of God. As children of God, we are exceptional. We are made in His image, so we are made to thrive in Him. We are made to give the light of the Lord to the world around us. Everyone has something in them that wants to be better than we were yesterday. Based on the choices God has allowed us to make, it is up to us to determine how we will shine a light on the word of God.

Pray for Peace

As I walk with God on this journey of sharing my heart through High Tide, I also pray for peace. As I share, I can allow myself not to sink inside myself. So much of the trauma that stands retained inside of myself are things that I have been holding onto, and, at this point, I do not know how to release them. I hope and pray that reigniting my relationship with God allows me to be free!

There was a season of my life where I held onto every single thing that I felt was wrong done to me. I would pretend to forgive someone and act unaffected by whatever had happened and would be as angry as a Cowboys fan in the first week of the playoff. If you know, you know! Who am I not to forgive someone as God forgave me?

Give Grace and Find Peace

Tranquility is something I am still seeking. My prayer for us going on this journey is that as we learn to manage and release other stressors, we can find peace and be free from our internal turmoil! There is so much pain and confusion in the world today! Where it feels like Peace is a luxury for some. There needs to be a balance in our lives where we can step into peace and restore ourselves. We go to work and school and care for our families and those around us. There never seems to be enough time for ourselves to have peace or to seek peace. I want to encourage everyone to seek a moment of peace daily.

Whether reading your bible or spending time with a loved one. If you need to walk or take a class just for yourself. You need to find something to recharge yourself! If there is something you can do for your peace, please comment below. It may open the door for someone to seek a wave of peace for themselves!

If you are struggling like I am, know you are not alone. Give Colossians 3 a read if you feel led. It is only 25 verses! Seek what the Lord is saying to you! I hope it can be a lifeboat for someone battling their storm!