Peace that Passeth Understanding

Normally I try not to speak in King James on my blog. But that's how I learned that verse, so today I make an exception and use it.

A few years ago, I attended the viewing of the lady who lived next door to me for most of my growing-up years. She had four children, and two of them were around my age, so I spent hours playing at their house or inviting them to play at mine. Great family. She was pretty young when she died of cancer.

I hadn't seen anyone in the family for years, and sometimes I'm clueless about the appropriate things to say in such situations. So when I got to the casket and stood next to her husband, I found myself searching for the right thing to say. He rescued me by speaking first. The one thing I remember him saying was that although he was brokenhearted, for the first time in his life, he understood what the Bible meant when it talked about the peace that passeth understanding. Those words have stayed with me.

Today I spent time in the prayer chapel at lunch and I asked God to shower me with His peace. I asked Him to do a work in my heart. Reveal to me whatever I needed to know. Y'all, that is like praying for patience. Don't ask it if you don't mind boot camp.

I did feel a peace settle over me. And this afternoon, as I sat at my desk, God opened my eyes to a rather humiliating realization, actually. I have no other explanation than to say He made it clear to me where I had been wrong and lifted a weight from my shoulders in a beautiful way.

It's a moment I won't forget. Like my neighbor, I grasped the peace that passeth understanding.