“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.”
-2 Thessalonians 3:16
As a youth director, chaos is by no means an unknown concept to me. In fact, as I reflect on the idea of peace in the middle of various aspects of life, I find that my experiences in working with youth and families have heavily impacted my perspective and idea of peace and chaos.
As we are currently loving our neighbors in a way protect them, we are currently not freely and openly running around the church in large numbers and playing games that people can hear throughout out the building. But, when we are, (and we will again), it is not a stretch of imagination if someone were to describe it as chaos.
Yet, here is the wonderful thing that is happening in the middle of all this chaos; youth are growing. They are growing in relationship with one another, they are having an opportunity to be openly playful and work out and work through stresses of the day and week, they are laughing and releases those healthy endorphins. In the middle of all the chaos and noise of a goofy game in the church, so much more is happening. After having the opportunity to learn and grow in this way, we sit down and having deep and meaningful conversations about life and faith and man share how they feel a sense of calm and safety in the group and church.
So, how is this happening in our day to day life? I think the specific answer to this question is a personal one that I hope you can explore throughout the day and week. In general terms, there is no lack of forms of chaos that surround us, but we also are loved deeply by God who never lacks in offering peace. God meets us right in the middle of the chaos and offers peace on the spot. This quote by an unknown author says it this way: “Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”
May you confidently walk into the Chaos of life being held in the love and peace of Christ with the calm of God in your heart. Amen.
Jay Kiel
Tomorrow: Peace in the middle of… “The Storm”
