I remember driving through New England on a winter morning many years ago. As we traveled on a Vermont highway, we crested a mountain and descended into a beautiful wooded valley. A storm had passed that way the previous night. Snow had blanketed the entire area and the trees were encased in ice. As the sun lifted, the whole landscape glistened like a thousand polished diamonds. The entire episode only lasted a minute before the sun disappeared behind some clouds, but to this day I can see and feel that moment. It was stunning, breathtaking, mesmerizing, and an utterly defying description.
To me, peace is equally description defying.
Webster’s dictionary defines peace as “a state of tranquility or quiet such as a freedom from civil disturbance, freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions, and harmony in personal relations” (Peace. In The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved December 14, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peace). Given that definition, it is easy to see why it is one of the most sought-after conditions. Yet, while peace is a universal quest for so many, peace is elusive, difficult to comprehend, and evading our grasp.
Fast forward close to 30 years. My family was almost entirely grown so we decided to take a Christmas getaway before our beloved three daughters would leave us for their own lives. On the last day, we left our Utah cabin retreat and drove high into the mountains to go sledding. I decided to strap on some snowshoes and climb to the top of a nearby ridge. It was another rare glorious vista with the sun shining over a pristine white landscape. This time I was warm from the brisk climb and the frigid air was deep in my lungs. I felt alive in a marvelous way. As I looked out across the mountain tops and down the hill at my family frolicking in the snow, all of the emotion from that Vermont moment returned and was joined by an intense love for family, the wonder of nature, and an inexpressible connection to God. While I might have felt overcome, overjoyed, or overwhelmed, in that instance, I felt a peace that surpasses all understanding.
Unless you have experienced something like this, I cannot describe it to you. But I do want to attempt to formulate it for you.
Ingredient #1: fill the holes in your heart with love. I am so blessed to have a lifelong companion who I adore. She is my mentor, my counselor, my roadmap, and my best friend. I am triply blessed to have three daughters who I adore (and their husbands are pretty cool too). I have a wonderful mother and a pretty amazing sister. They are all so good to me. I want to spend my life with them through all eternity. Most of all, I have felt the love of my Heavenly Father and his Beloved Son, the true source of lasting peace. When I have felt all of that love, I can tell you there are no holes left in my heart. In fact, it has grown three sizes those days (yes, I can be a grinch at times).
Ingredient #2: forget yourself: There have been times when I have not been at peace. In every case, I was thinking of myself. When I have been lost in a dark place, it has always been because I have been thinking of myself. For those who are not at peace or struggle to find love, the more you forget yourself in the wholehearted service of others for their benefit only, you will find an excellent substitute.
Let me close by dispelling a few misconceptions about peace. Peace doesn’t have to exist in the absence of sorrow or turbulence. In fact, sometimes we can find sublime peace in the middle of the storm. Recently, the grand patriarch of our son-in-law’s wonderful family passed away. His sister wrote, “My sweet amazing Grandpa passed away last night. My heart feels so heavy… But I feel peace in knowing he is reunited with his sweet wife who I know he has so terribly missed.” Like bitter and sweet, sometimes peace and difficulty work together for our good.
A second misconception is that peace, like love, can be found if we look for it. Sure, we must embark on the journey with peace as the destination, but we must get lost in the wonder of that journey. Like any great quest, we must work hard to prepare for the trip, we must purify our mind and heart set while traveling, and we must lose ourselves in the service of others along the way. Then, like a mountain vista, it will suddenly appear before our view and take our breath away.
So, peace, while indescribable, is desirable, achievable, and well worth the journey.
