A QUEST FOR PEACE

According to a 2017 Gallup poll, the percentage of people in the United States that are wholly convinced God exists hovers around 67%.  When the question is less definitive, as in “Do you think there is a God?” roughly 75% of the population says “yes.”  Although these percentages are dropping, (which is disheartening), that is still quite a number of people who acknowledge that there is God.

So….if we truly believe God exists, do we believe He created us out of His love for us? Do we believe He sent his son, Jesus, down from heaven to be our savior, teacher and guide? Do we believe He did this because he wants only what is best for us, namely an eternity of happiness with Him?  Do we believe He has the “big picture” of life, one that we cannot see because of our limited vision? In other words, do we believe that God is God and we are NOT God? 

Therein lies the crux of today’s modern life — we want to believe in God, but we also want to do what we want to do, regardless of what God has expressed to us as His desires and expectations.  

It’s unsurprising really — since our culture celebrates the individual.  We are fiercely protective of our rights and our ability to choose for ourselves how we live our lives.  Any perceived or real threat to our freedom is to be resisted and fought.

But what if our choices don’t line up with God’s will for us? What if in the exercise of our freedom to choose, we are choosing the wrong actions, the wrong attitudes — things contrary to what God wants?

I submit that it causes a deep-down uneasiness in our souls.  We feel restless and on edge; we seek out things that we think will fill us up and make us feel better.  They may do that, briefly, but then the feeling is gone. Life just seems like a puzzle that is out of whack.  There is no peace inside.

Why? Because we are literally made to love and be loved by God!  It’s in our DNA.  It is written in our hearts. It resonates with our souls. When we are out of sync with God, our lives pay the price.

I have come to the conclusion that true peace comes from knowing who I am (a daughter of God), honoring who He is (my creator and the One who loves me most), trusting in His providence and care for me and doing something that is radical and counter-cultural: obeying Him.

Obeying God requires me to trust in Him.  It requires me to understand God’s wishes, to know Christ’s teachings, to embrace what the Church has laid out as the path to holiness.  Getting there is not an instantaneous event.  I am still at the very beginnings of grasping what He asks of me.  

Like any other relationship, it takes time spent together.  So I pray, I read scripture, I go to Adoration, I take full advantage of the Sacraments available, I read enlightening books about theology and the saints.  Slowly, I feel that God is revealing Himself more and more.  

It also takes an awareness of my choices.  Am I interacting with people with care and kindness?  Am I consuming movies, books, podcasts that are moral, that challenge me to be a better person?  Am I using my time wisely?  Have I detached myself from over-valuing material things? I wish I could say I am consistently able to say “yes” to these questions.  But I am a work-in-progress — we all are, and I do feel like I have finally discovered the right path.

With this new perspective comes a deeper peace than I have ever known.  Are there still struggles? Yes!  Do I still have burdens and worries?  Yes!  But do I feel at peace that He is looking out for me.  Yes!  A hundred times – yes!

Bottom-line: the quest for peace is really not that hard (we do often over-complicate things).  It requires courage, faith, perseverance and, most importantly, a love in us that responds to the infinite Love in Him.