Peacefinding Pointer

Last night, several good friends and I attended a nice little workshop-type dealio, wherein was discussed the topic of peace—its sources, how to obtain it, and how it doesn’t always mean “the absence of war.”

Since there strangely was no opportune moment during the workshop to share a personal experience, I’d like to share it here.

February 27, 2010—Utah. ‘Twas the wee small hours of the morning on a Saturday. “Wee” means sometime between 3:00 and 4:00am. I was slumbering at my family’s house, and I was out like a light, up until the point my mom came in to gently shake me awake and tell me that an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck right near the place where my younger brother was serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was alarmed enough to make the lickety-split decision that I had slept long enough. I hopped out of bed and followed my mom downstairs to where a TV was blaring breaking news about central Chile’s urgent state. Our TV stayed on for hours, because we wanted to keep ourselves in the loop as best we could. We waited and waited for some sort of clue that my brother and his mission companion were alright. The clue kept on not coming, and I began to feel too anxious to keep watching the tube, so I chose to escape for a tiny bit.

I drove a short ways to a local park that was endowed with dozens of big, tall trees. Upon arrival, I got out of my car, walked over to one tree on the east side, wrapped myself up in a huge cozy blanket, and sat on the dead grass with my back leaning against the tree’s trunk. No one else was in sight. No one typically goes to the park on a chilly winter afternoon. This was the perfect chance for me to strike up a conversation with God.

I told Him about the concerns of the day, and then I made myself as still as possible as I awaited His reply, which sweetly came mere seconds later by way of the Holy Ghost: “Whatever happens, everything will turn out alright.” Very few words, but it was all I needed to hear in order to find peace in the currently crazy South American situation.

Nothing in that divine reply referred to anything about the status of my brother’s physical well-being. Neither I nor anyone else definitely knew he was still healthy as a horse. All was still mysterious, and danger was still existing, but peace was still available. And peace was what my family and I had lodged pleasantly in our souls as we stayed prayerful.

The cherry atop this sundae of a peaceful situation is the phone call we received a day or two later—from my missionary brother! He called to say he and his companion were okay! In fact, I think I remember learning that all missionaries there were okay. This warranted some jollity, as well as another dose of thanks to God.

And thus endeth my personal attestation that peace isn’t the absence of turbulence, but it certainly can be found amid turbulence.

Sometimes I have a “peacemaking pointer” for you, but today I’m offering a peacefinding pointer: “Be still and know that I am God…” (Psalms 46:10)

Strength In Your Past Self

Once upon a time, not terribly long ago, in a land not far away, I sat on a northbound train in the early morning. The lovely shiny sun was rising up over the eastward mountains, and all surrounding passengers were anywhere between 75-100% asleep, but I was 100% awake, because the thing I wanted to do rather than sleep was write down the list of all boys upon whom I’d ever crushed in my younger years. Needless or needful to say, it was a very fun brain exercise to do; it took much enjoyable mental dust bunny extermination to rediscover the memory lanes of my history, and thence travel upon each.

I had a particular profound reason for the reminiscing on the train, besides the mere desire to indulge in nostalgia. I compiled the list so I could look back on all the times it was okay that a crush’s head got chopped off by the guillotine of fate. In other words, every time I had to “let him go,” the sun rose again the next day, and I still had a pulse. I now know that every time a heartache may say “hola” in my future, I’ll certainly be briefly sad, but I’ll also be able to find strength in my past self. I’ll be able to remember that my past self had the power to conquer letdown time and time again, and I’ll know that I can conquer once more.

That’s how it can be for all of us, I think, not just when crushes are concerned, but also when any other type of letdown is the subject. If you’re experiencing a hardship now, try rediscovering and travelling a memory lane that included another hardship, and remember that you overcame it. If such a memory lane is nowhere in sight, and you’re not sure how it’s possible to come off conqueror in your situation, please know that you are not condemned to weaklingism forevermore. Now can be the time that you turn to God—your Heavenly Father—who loves you. Talk with Him in calm earnest, keep your faith, maintain your communion with Him, let Him help you along your way, and you’ll see that you really can be the gladiator who doesn’t get eaten by lions.