Onward Hoe!

I compose this post for two reasons. First of all, I would like to calm the excitement generated by all the talk of men and eHarmony. Apparently there was some concern that I was looking to "settle." There's nothing to fret about. I am quite at peace. Second, I want to fill in those of you who either don't go to my church or who missed it last week. It was goooood.

For the last few weeks, we've been discussing the fruit of the Spirit. That is, we've been learning what it is that God produces in our lives when we let him do his thang (so to speak). The fruit is singular. It isn't many different fruits, but one multi-faceted fruit. And much as an apple can be described as red (or green or yellow), juicy, sweet and crunchy, the fruit of the Spirit is all of the following:
love
joy
peace
patience
kindness
goodness
faithfulness
gentleness
self-control.

I personally can't wait to learn what the difference is between kindness and goodness, but we're not there yet. Last week, we were talking about peace.

When we think of peace, most of us think of tranquility or calm or absence of war or anarchy, but Biblical peace is none of these. Tranquility is a feeling, a perception. It is purely mental, and while true peace can and will produce tranquility in turn ("the peace that transcends understanding will guard your heart and mind"), tranquility is not peace itself. Calmness is quiet and sedentary. This is simply not peace at all. Peace is active and redemptive. Peace in the Miss America pageant sense of the word generally means that nobody in the world is fighting with or killing anyone else. But my pastor defined peace as trusting in God's wise plan for your life in all circumstances...even when surrounded by enemies and opposition. When the Psalmist says, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies" (Ps.23), I have to admit, that's...well, weird. Who feasts in the presence of their enemies? I think I would lose my appetite. But he's trusting in the provision and protection of God even while his enemies surround him on all sides wielding steak knives because he knows that God is powerful and good and totally in control.

This kind of peace is far from the image of a monk on a mountain contemplating the mysteries and meaning of life that we get from other sources. Biblical peace takes courage--courage to stop simply thinking about life and to start living it, courage to trust in an invisible God, courage to embrace the mystery. As someone who has done some completely illogical things in life, I have to say, in those times of chaos when nothing made sense, God gave me peace because I knew what I was supposed to do and trusted in his wise plan.

For example, almost a year ago, I began to think that I might want to leave NY and come back to NC. This was ridiculous. I had a full-time job lined up teaching for a school that I loved. I had a cheap apartment with fantastic roommates. I had a church I was a part of that let me sing (also against all odds). I had dear dear friends. And I lived in the most accessible city in the world. Flights to everywhere were always cheaper from NY. In Raleigh, I had no job waiting for me, no apartment, no church and only a handful of friends. To move would be to walk into total mystery. And yet when I even considered for a second the possibility of staying in NY, I had the closest thing to a panic attack I've ever experienced. But when I thought of moving to this city where I'd never lived before, I felt like it was the smartest decision I'd ever made.

I can't explain it other than to say that I felt peace.

I'm not sure I've made much of a point here or nearly done the topic justice, but it was really revolutionary for me, so I wanted to share.

Peace out.