Staring up at the night sky at the stars twinkling. The moon rays through the tree casting shadows on the grass. I was in my happy place. The quietness of the night surrounded me.
No honking of horns, and no lit lamp posts causing the stars in the sky to be diminished. Nothing disrupted that moment. Complete peace.
A frog, or maybe a duet of frogs made their presence known. Wind rustling through my hair. It all added to the peace. I take a deep breath. Breathing in the peace.
Same location, cool morning, coffee cup in hand. Swirls of steam coming from the cup. Sun rays through the same trees that just the night before, the moon had shone through. Deer meandering through the yard with the fawns trotting behind. A rabbit hops into the forest. Squirrels chase each other around a tree trunk. Rays of sun streaming through the trees. Grass glistening from the light on the dew.
I was, once again in my happy place. Peace filled me. Holidays, or just a weekend away from the hubbub of work, it was a peaceful place. Unwinding every time, I was up there.
Leaving my home, or work, and making my way up State Route 70 to the happy place. Driving each mile, peace would just come. It was an hour and a half drive through fruit and nut orchards in Northern California. With each passing moment, the stresses fell along the roadside. God would speak to me on this drive up.
If you ask me to close my eyes and picture where I could go and have peace fill me, I would tell you this place. My folks’ house up on a small hill next to the woods. Pulling into the driveway, and putting on the parking brake, I knew I was in peace.
Whether full of family, or just me, this place became my refuge. Whatever happened in life, the calm would exceed in this place. Walking through the woods or sitting on the deck. It always filled me with peace, my happy place.
That place is now gone. The Camp Fire of November 8, 2018, in Paradise, California destroyed it. In an instance, the home was turned into a pile of rubble and ash. That is all it took, just a moment. The place where many a moment was spent in peace, was now a pile of ash.
Now, it is all gone. Except for the dirt that now is where a home used to be. The cleanup crew cleaned up the rubble and took it away. A hill of dirt is what is left surrounded by the landscaping that is growing back up. Leaves are growing on the trees. Burned bushes have new growth sprouting up from the roots.
It is still the same place, the same spot. The address has not changed. Yet, it is not my happy place anymore. I had no “happy place.” OR…did I.
I am going to be honest, I mourned the loss. Wondering if I would ever find the place where I could go to find that peace again. I was devasted. It hit me to the core. Not only for me but the twenty thousand people who went through what I can only imagine. They had lost their homes, their livelihood, their world.
Have you been there? Something that you thought was a good constant in your life was suddenly not there. In an instant, it was gone. Did you find yourself mourning? Asking what is it all for?
We all go through our day and lives, seemingly losing something or someone every day. There is so much loss in the world. So much sadness, and heartache. Seemingly nothing is constant. Where is the peace?
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” ~ John 14:27 |NIV
Yet, God promises His peace. It is not a peace that the world gives us. The “happy place” can’t be a place of this world. Every place, everything can be destroyed or taken from us. God’s peace will never be taken from us.
Our peace is like the wind. We can’t see it or hold it. We see the wind moving the trees, feel it on our face. Wind surrounds us. Peace, God’s peace surrounds us. We see it move in us and the people around us, we feel it.
With daily practice, our happy place can be wherever we are. That peace that we are searching for comes from something more than a place. To paraphrase a line from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. Maybe Peace doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Peace…perhaps means a little bit more.
Peace…God’s peace can only come from Him. The Creator of peace. I am not going to lie and say that sitting at my desk at work or in the car during traffic is my happy place. Yet, I can find peace during those times.
I am discovering that my “happy place” doesn’t have to be a specific place. Days filled with crazy. Work overwhelming. Life pushing. They are all still there. Yet, the peace comes when I look to the One who gives His peace.
Calming comes when I focus on the Creator of Peace-my happy place.
This month, my focus is going to be on praying for peace in each of us. God doesn’t promise a perfect Hallmark existence, but He does promise that He will be with us. This peace He promises is not of this world.
I know that I want that peace. I need that peace. What is a better word, then need? Crave that peace.
I crave for the peace that passes all understanding.
~ Laura Maxson
No honking of horns, and no lit lamp posts causing the stars in the sky to be diminished. Nothing disrupted that moment. Complete peace.
A frog, or maybe a duet of frogs made their presence known. Wind rustling through my hair. It all added to the peace. I take a deep breath. Breathing in the peace.
Same location, cool morning, coffee cup in hand. Swirls of steam coming from the cup. Sun rays through the same trees that just the night before, the moon had shone through. Deer meandering through the yard with the fawns trotting behind. A rabbit hops into the forest. Squirrels chase each other around a tree trunk. Rays of sun streaming through the trees. Grass glistening from the light on the dew.
I was, once again in my happy place. Peace filled me. Holidays, or just a weekend away from the hubbub of work, it was a peaceful place. Unwinding every time, I was up there.
Leaving my home, or work, and making my way up State Route 70 to the happy place. Driving each mile, peace would just come. It was an hour and a half drive through fruit and nut orchards in Northern California. With each passing moment, the stresses fell along the roadside. God would speak to me on this drive up.
If you ask me to close my eyes and picture where I could go and have peace fill me, I would tell you this place. My folks’ house up on a small hill next to the woods. Pulling into the driveway, and putting on the parking brake, I knew I was in peace.
Whether full of family, or just me, this place became my refuge. Whatever happened in life, the calm would exceed in this place. Walking through the woods or sitting on the deck. It always filled me with peace, my happy place.
That place is now gone. The Camp Fire of November 8, 2018, in Paradise, California destroyed it. In an instance, the home was turned into a pile of rubble and ash. That is all it took, just a moment. The place where many a moment was spent in peace, was now a pile of ash.
Now, it is all gone. Except for the dirt that now is where a home used to be. The cleanup crew cleaned up the rubble and took it away. A hill of dirt is what is left surrounded by the landscaping that is growing back up. Leaves are growing on the trees. Burned bushes have new growth sprouting up from the roots.
It is still the same place, the same spot. The address has not changed. Yet, it is not my happy place anymore. I had no “happy place.” OR…did I.
Have you been there? Something that you thought was a good constant in your life was suddenly not there. In an instant, it was gone. Did you find yourself mourning? Asking what is it all for?
We all go through our day and lives, seemingly losing something or someone every day. There is so much loss in the world. So much sadness, and heartache. Seemingly nothing is constant. Where is the peace?
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” ~ John 14:27 |NIV
Yet, God promises His peace. It is not a peace that the world gives us. The “happy place” can’t be a place of this world. Every place, everything can be destroyed or taken from us. God’s peace will never be taken from us.
Our peace is like the wind. We can’t see it or hold it. We see the wind moving the trees, feel it on our face. Wind surrounds us. Peace, God’s peace surrounds us. We see it move in us and the people around us, we feel it.
With daily practice, our happy place can be wherever we are. That peace that we are searching for comes from something more than a place. To paraphrase a line from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. Maybe Peace doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Peace…perhaps means a little bit more.
Peace…God’s peace can only come from Him. The Creator of peace. I am not going to lie and say that sitting at my desk at work or in the car during traffic is my happy place. Yet, I can find peace during those times.
I am discovering that my “happy place” doesn’t have to be a specific place. Days filled with crazy. Work overwhelming. Life pushing. They are all still there. Yet, the peace comes when I look to the One who gives His peace.
Calming comes when I focus on the Creator of Peace-my happy place.
This month, my focus is going to be on praying for peace in each of us. God doesn’t promise a perfect Hallmark existence, but He does promise that He will be with us. This peace He promises is not of this world.
I know that I want that peace. I need that peace. What is a better word, then need? Crave that peace.
I crave for the peace that passes all understanding.
~ Laura Maxson