Practicing Peace

I was reading an article about women-mothers actually-in the Bible and this narrative briefly described the defining events and missteps of their lives. It was interesting to look at from this different perspective and it made me think about a few things. How would we be described now? What mothers are noteworthy in today's society and why? What are my priorities as a mom? Am I thinking beyond the daily routine and finding opportunities to go above and beyond for my daughter? Some of these are rhetorical questions but worthy of consideration.

Another thing that came to mind was how to maintain inner peace regardless of what is happening outside of me. I can say that I have learned to remain calm when removing my child from a situation where she is kicking and screaming and writhing in my arms because she wanted to take her shoes and socks off at the playground and run around barefoot. That was a true testament to my growth in the past year as a mom. I used to be terrified of that kind of stuff, now I smile and make eye contact with the people I pass as we're putting on our spectacle the whole way to the car. Luckily, this is a rare occurrence and most of the time London is peaceful.

In the beginning, I pretended. Having no clue how to process the situation in my head, I simply put on a calm face and acted as if I was fine when she would freak out over something. Secretly, I wondered if anyone knew that it was a facade, but after a while it didn't matter. Maybe the facade became a reality and I learned from practice to actually be calm just by acting that way. It's funny, all the psychology training in college and then in grad school has come in handy sometimes, but as many people know, it's hard to apply those principles to your own life. The subjectivity gets in the way. Oh well.

To answer part of my opener, I am a mom who is always there for her child and is taking each opportunity as it comes to set a good example. To me that means I show love as often as I can and forgive quickly and think before I act or react. There's a line in Ephesians 4:6 that I've always liked and it helps prop me up when the storms hit. "Don't worry about anything, instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand."