THE KEY TO HAVING PEACE!

God’s Presence is The Key To Peace.
In fact when God’s presence is with you, there is peace in your quiet.
While living in Africa, Freddy, a boy that lived in a children’s home, struggled with not feeling loved. He had faced many challenges in rejection over the course of his 9 years of life, some of which, we didn’t even know about. Being new caretakers, we were unaware of everything that he had gone through, but by the way he acted, it wasn’t hard to sense, he wanted a deeper level of love and attention.
Once a week our team of missionaries had a movie night to connect and relax. We would try to get the kids to bed before we turned it on, so the kids didn’t feel left out. On a particular night, Freddy hopped out of bed, and probably hearing the movie, came to the door and gently knocked. Walking him to his room, I told him he needed to sleep so he would be ready for school in the morning.Freddy wasn’t having it, he kept insisting we didn’t love him and nothing we could do or say seemed to help. It wasn’t too long until Freddy came to the door again, but this time, yelling out, “You don’t love me! You don’t love me!!”
In short,I was aggitated, misunderstood and disappointed. Hearing these things from Freddy, the same kid I left the US to come and love, was tough. Freddy was frustrated too, and out of his insecurity, he began to say untrue things to get my attention, hoping to just hear the words, “I love you.”
The truth is, I’m just like Freddy, you’re just like Freddy. My need for love is so present, so deeply rooted that I’ll do almost anything to get it. When I need peace, I complain,I get frustrated and yes, I even yell at God on occasion, telling Him, “You don’t love me”, hoping that He will come chasing after me.
Freddy usually takes time to get to bed, and often he goes to bed upset. One night I asked him if I could sing to him before bed. About five minutes in, I felt such a sweet thick tangible peace in the room. It was so beautiful that in that moment I knew God was near and because of that, I wasn’t in a rush to get back to the movie. As I sang, words from God’s heart came out, and I wasn’t just singing anymore but was engaged in a beautiful conversation with God. Within 10 minutes Freddy was fast asleep, and what he had been so desiring, he got. I was caught off guard by God’s presence, and how He was in that room with Freddy and I. As I continued, I sang the words, “Come, Lord, help us” as I was singing I noticed, I didn’t say, “help Freddy”, but “help us”; right then I felt a deeper connection with this little boy. It wasn’t just Him needing peace, but me needing peace too! The ironic thing was that like so many times, I didn’t know what I needed until God gave it to me. God was showing me that this 6 year old boy and I are in it together. We didn’t know what we needed until we got it, God’s refreshing peace. When I walked out of Freddy’s room I was much calmer than normal, and I realized it was only God who could peacefully unify a yelling and frustrated child with a tired misunderstood, frustrated guardian.
God’s peace is always the medicine for our hurts and it comes through His presence.
What are your biggest needs? Where do you need peace in your quiet? Engage God and receive His priceless peace!
If you would like another great and FREE resource, I just wrote a book called “Women of Hope”. The book is free and it ships for free! Inside are 12 stories of Women living in Uganda who that have all gone through similar situations as Freddy, Me and You! Rejection, isolation, depression, being misunderstood, and battling sickness.
Find out how these women learned to have PEACE  in the midst of life’s toughest challenges and how YOU CAN TOO!