Perfect peace

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! (Isaiah 26:3)

Yesterday was a gift. No other Christmas presents are required.

For the first time ever, I traveled to visit my family in Colorado a full six days before Christmas. The flights, the travel, the sight of my brother coming to greet me at the train station – all of it was sheer perfection.

This is my seventh year making the trip, and every year is special. I have only been able to do so since leaving my husband in 2012. Previously, he never allowed me to visit here. Controllers don’t easily allow anyone else to influence whomever they’re controlling – especially family. Visits could be made to me, but only under close supervision. Visits without him were strictly prohibited.

Words can hardly express how meaningful our first Christmas together was. I could scarcely contain my joy at seeing my mom’s tree and opening our gifts in each other’s presence. The elation I felt at the annual Christmas Eve candlelight service understandably flooded my heart and spilled out of my eyes. Such precious memories.

This year, I felt as if my trek was escorted by a higher power. Everything worked together like a perfect symphony, orchestrated by the Master’s hand.

Exquisite skies, smooth flights, festooned airports, seamless luggage retrieval, and a joyous reunion – every portion of my trip was sheer perfection.

I challenge you, this holiday season, to add God’s peace to your preparations. Wherever you are and in whatever you do, share His joy with everyone you encounter. Smile more. Grumble less. Keep your thoughts fixed on Christ. Love one another – even as He first loved us.

How often do we get so caught up in the preparations and busyness of the season that we forget the simple pleasures and peace that God longs to fill us with over the holidays? Do we take time to reflect on the magnitude of love that brought a king down to a humble manger for wretched sinners like you and me?

Is it all about the material things, or do we ever stop to remember the jubilance found in family, friends, and nature?

Perfect peace is within your reach. You need only reach out to the Savior to find it.