Stay In Your Lane and Be At Peace

Nevertheless we urge you, brothers and sisters, to progress even more, and to aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you. // 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12

It was going to be another fun themed Vacation Bible School (VBS) week, and I looked forward to leading again. I couldn’t wait to partake in the singing, learn the hand motions that go along with the catchy songs, and enjoy the contagious energy of the participants. It’s pretty much an extrovert’s playground: an engaged audience, lots of people around, and being silly for Jesus.  

I have always been paired with someone who I instantly click with. You know, the kind of person who reads the room with you, picks up on your nonverbal cues when it’s time to change the activity to suit the needs of the participants, adds an ice-breaker to get the kids’ attention, and pumps up the kids with you for the next station. 

That had always been my experience until that summer, when I was paired with someone who wasn’t so into gelling with me. There wasn’t a mutual give and take like I had experienced in the past.  

I wondered if it was something I had said or done. But like Saint Paul reminded me in the First Reading, sometimes the way to stay tranquil is to stay in my lane, or to use his words, we ought “to mind your own affairs, and to work with your own hands” (1 Thessalonians 4:10-12). This individual made it clear that we were not going to be friends post-VBS, and I resolved to not force my friendship (which, if you know me, is very challenging because I enjoy meeting new friends everywhere I go). 

While I didn’t understand my partner’s indifference, I couldn’t make it personal nor allow it to break my peace. I remembered this person was loved by God the same way He loves me.

Sister, we can so easily become consumed in someone else’s business—be it at VBS, the way someone attends Mass, or forming opinions of others when we do not actually know them and their circumstances. However, love of neighbor is always the antidote, and it frees us to live a tranquil life.