Hi… it’s been a while! I hope you are doing super amazing. And if you are doing super amazing, finding peace in your life, I want to give you a hug and a high 5! Life in this completely imperfect world is hard to do on that scale. Seriously. Way to go!
What a crazy life this is… amiright? If it isn’t one thing, it seems to be another, and boy-oh-boy is the possession of peace the most important right now.
The Peace-takers vs The Peace-makers
It seems like no matter where I look, there are peace-takers all around us. Taking our time away from us with all these demands we see in front of us. Not only making us think we have to have the biggest and best and most, but that we have to have it now. Basically keeping us distracted from what is most important. When we give our peace away, we feel anxious and fearful and we allow negativity to creep into our lives. Negativity that we feel we can’t control to some extent – because the world is telling us how to live.
I have found peace to be something that I am seeking daily as I navigate the stay-at-home, work-at-home, homeschool, farm tender, organizer of all things… life. As a mom, I want our girls to have peace in their lives to live and prosper in a world where chaos stops at their door. Where confusion is made clear. Where the turmoil and insanity of the real world doesn’t penetrate their real worlds.
Peace has been something I don’t always feel I find easily, and I am working on ways to figure that out as we move through changes and constant demands of life.
Compromising our peace
Being a mom of four girls is ROUGH! Can I get an AMEN!? As I have said, it’s time-consuming, all-consuming, chaotic and down-right nuts! When I was pregnant with our fourth girl, I remember praying over and over for God to give me the strength to even begin to think of how I was going to do it. I knew what meeting the demands of three little girls felt like at the time – I could only imagine what four would feel like. Those thoughts were fear talking and weren’t productive in finding peace. But wow – the peace that would cover me after crying out for comfort in that time was heavy. It was like a warm chenille blanket covering me at just the right time. The peace that surpasses all understanding… and that feeling comforts me still to this day.
The peace that I found in giving it all over and deciding – hey, I can handle so much, but THIS… I can’t. I can handle a lot – being diagnosed with MS, changing my diet and my whole life(see my post all about this HERE and HERE), constantly being needed and huge responsibilities; but it takes a toll and that lack of peace can cause stress. Stress is against my rules of how I want to live my life… so much so that I find myself avoiding stressful situations in order to cope. Is this healthy? Ha, asking for a friend. I think we know the answer to that.
My list – constantly modified
So, how am I finding peace in my life? How can you discover the same for yours?
- The Lord – I believe the Lord is there for us to call on in times of need. He is able to handle all of it. When I feel most distraught and lacking peace, I call on Him.
- Time – I take time for myself. I remove myself from situations where I’m not at my best. I decide that because I can control my response to the peace-takers, I can walk away (or close the site) when my comfort is at stake.
- Sing – I joined the church choir 6 months ago. What an AMAZING experience it has been for me. I have been able to grow in spiritual ways, feel a connection to God, make friends and sing my heart out with some amazing musicians. ( I have been singing since I can remember and it has always brought me SO MUCH JOY). We sing praise and worship songs, like the ones you might hear on Christian radio stations, we have fun and dedicate time to making it wonderful. It’s SUCH a gift to be involved in something so life-giving. It gives peace to my soul.
- Dates – I find that my husband helps me create peace in my life more than I ever realized. He is my rock, and so rational that it’s irritating at times (I joke but I sincerely love this about him – because I tend to be the opposite). The older I’ve gotten and the longer we’ve been married, the more I respect and love him for who he is and how we are so different. As a result, we give each other what the other one needs. <3
- Down-time – I’ve tried to find more downtime in our every day. I’m striving to make this match my thought process of homeschooling and accomplishing everything we need to daily. Downtime for us looks like playing Memory while relaxing together, cuddling on the couch watching a movie, baking cookies together, and tending to our farm.
- Get outside – any time I’m outside, I find peace. Outside is my happy place. I will always crave time there. Activities outside are even better. Pulling weeds, trimming roses, selling fruit for the farm. Grumpy kids? Send them outside. Grumpy momma? Take a break outside. Go listen to the birds sing and look at the clouds in the sky while soaking your feet in the long green grass and tell me you don’t feel better.
- Audible – sometimes getting out of my own head is helpful. Listening to books on Audible has become one of my favorite things to do lately. I like mystery or thriller books – haha craving that stressful dopamine rush after all – but self-help books are good too. My 13-year-old has found a new love of cleaning while listening to books on how to make money. Whatever gets her motivated, I’m here for it!
- Essential Oils – something I’ve used for 10 YEARS! I’ve been using Young Living Essential Oils to help me with finding peace for 10 years! Crazy to think it’s been that long… but how incredible that they work so well. My favorites for helping me de-stress and calm my thoughts are Peace & Calming and Valor. Both smell incredible and take the edge off when I am feeling consumed.
Those are my tips for finding peace… and I’m still seeking more, always on the hunt to create a better world for us. What are some ways you are creating peace in your life? What can you tweak and modify to make life less stressful and more peaceful?
Moving forward…
Go out and join that group, put your feet in the grass, take some time off social media, go on a date with your spouse or your best friend. Some people rely on meditation for creating peace, and this article I found HERE talks more about that. Whatever you choose, I promise, that feeling of peace will show up and you’ll crave it more and more. Keep positivity and peace forefront in your life and say no to every.other.option.
One more thing – don’t forget to smile. Peace.