Lately, it feels like I have been living in a storm.
I am the parent of a child with special health needs and, for the first time since he was born six years ago, the stress of it has become too much. My weeks are filled with a constant underlying anxiety, punctuated by days where it becomes debilitating. I have tried so many different things to alleviate my anxiety, and while I have found some relief, this cross has not been taken from me. Sometimes I wonder if my heart will ever know peace again.
“Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27).
The idea that the peace that Jesus gives is different from the peace that the world has to offer is not new to me, but lately it has been more of a challenge for me to believe it. Daily I need to remind myself that I have the peace of Christ even though my life is chaotic. I have the peace of Christ even though my child is in the hospital. I have the peace of Christ even though the future is uncertain. I have the peace of Christ even though I feel anxious.
I have peace, not because I feel it, but because Jesus said He would give it, and I choose to believe His words.
In time there will be an end to my present afflictions, but until then I keep coming back to His promise of peace, rooted like a mighty oak tree in the middle of my stormy life.
I have the peace of Christ even though my life is chaotic. Click to tweet
This mighty Saint wrote on the definition of peace in article three and it is both illuminating and comforting.
Anna Coyne is a wife, mother, and convert to the Catholic Faith. She is a classically trained pianist who, after teaching for ten years now, stays home with her three young children but still manages to flex her creative muscles through writing, knitting, and gardening. She is proud to call Saint Paul home and loves everything about living in Minnesota, except for winter. You can find out more about her here.
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