We’ll begin again by taking a moment to BE STILL and cultivate peace, together. Our vocational exploration today is about being “Peacemakers”. I love today’s focus, as it features one of my most beloved soul sisters in the world: my girl, Sophia.
BE Still. Surrender.
If it seems war is raging and there is no peace to BE had, pause here.
Rest.
Find solace.
Open your heart.
Invite peace into
the superhighway of your thoughts.
Breathe deeply.
Exhale fully.
BE still.
BE.
A Story.
She didn’t have the peaceMAKING credentials you would expect. She brought gifts of bubbles, balloons, and chewing gum on her peacemaking mission to Uganda. She giggled, danced, laughed, and played. She was two years old—our daughter, Sophia.
Ten years ago, our family traveled with an extraordinary group of people. Our destination was Gulu, a village in the north of Uganda, and the Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) camps housing nearly two million people in post-war Uganda. Our team was there to listen to, play with, and be a part of life with a bunch of beautiful kids and their families who had been traumatized by growing up in the midst of a brutal civil war. Many were still refugees in their own country and lived in these IDP camps far away from their villages. Even as we arrived, children were missing, the panic of child soldier abductions still striking fear into the hearts of many.
One day, a local leader swept Soph up into her arms and said,
“Sophia, our little, yet mighty, Sophia. Do you know what you have done? You have brought hope to us. You have reminded our children that they are not forgotten, that they matter. You make them feel that way because you have traveled so far—halfway around the world—just to be with them. Sophia, you are a peacemaker.”
Reminding people that they are not forgotten and that they matter is peacemaking. It makes a mighty difference.
My friend, claim your vocation as peacemaker. Write it on the business card of your heart. Live it, not only when life is easy, but BOLDly when life is hard. Root your life deeper into the soil of peace in regular rhythms of PoPs, where you can connect more often and more deeply with your tribe, with your own heart, with every breath, each day.
Doing something as significant as peacemaking
—here and now—
is simple.
It is about showing up and bringing your voice and vision
to life
and offering it to the world.
Ponder. Go Deeper.
What are the areas in the lives of those near and dear to you, or far away, to which you long to bring peace? Before you think on this for too long, pause. Imagine, send, and pray for peace in this very person or place. Trust that there are others who are with you in this. Now, my friend, imagine again: What do you want to do here? Who do you want to invite to join you? Be as specific as you can possibly be. Write this as if it were a screenplay.
Engage. Commit.
Look for and find one place to BE a peacemaker in your day today. It can BE small or big, with one you know or a stranger, with one near or far. Dream it and do it.
For a guided Place of Pause (PoP), check out this PDF reading from Soulfully Ablaze, the video below about today’s PoP, or the complete video series (all are free) of 10-minute PoPs.
Given the state of our world – the Corona virus pandemic, school and work closures, challenges to global markets and personal paychecks – we must take a few moments to BE still and to pause. These days, more than ever, there has been much clamoring for our attention 24-7 with LOUD, FEAR-based, PANIC-inducing messages – but let’s practice peace, together, amidst these stormy days. I share these PoPs so you can FILL UP with peace and navigate this wild and crazy season with strength and courage.
My love is with and for you, my friend. Have a most blessed and beautyFULL day!
xo, -Sarah DT ❤️
