An Olive Branch of Peace

As I sipped yet another cup of delicious, minty tea..I contemplated the act of extending a peace offering to a friend in hopes of re-opening the door of communication. I question my motive though. Is it for selfish reasons? To appear to be the "bigger" person? My own answer to that is that ultimately I want peace; within myself and with my neighbors. Essentially, spiritually speaking, my friends are neighbors and brothers and sisters in Christ. How to go about peace-seeking is the question. Will I be well received? I recently told a friend that how a person receives our loving, peaceful gestures ought not to be our highest concern. What we should be most concerned about is whether or not we are honoring God in thought and action. Am I honoring God by creating distance as a result of dramatic circumstances and being non-communicative or am I merely serving myself? As I become reoriented in my relationship with God and others I'm open to learning different ways of response. Thinking about this specific situation, my typical response to disappointment is isolation and retreat; that's been my only defense mechanism. Now as I embrace the idea of community in all aspects, how will I respond to offense and disappointments now? The book I recently finished (Real Sex:The Truth About Chastity) ended with a picture of a parent teaching a child to swim. It described how a parent, and God, stands in front of us, beckoning us to them as we navigate the water, and life. That's how I feel about singleness. I don't know exactly what I'm doing and I make mistakes often. But all the while God is near, all around, guiding and teaching and loving.

The seeking of ultimate peace begins and ends with God... the Giver of all things peaceful...

Living Authentically,
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