Week 9

Peace is a state of tranquility, harmony, and freedom from violence and hostility. It’s something we all yearn for but often struggle to grasp. For me, the search for peace is ongoing. Some say parenting young children is harder than parenting adults, but I strongly disagree. As a mother, my heart aches for my adult children in ways I never expected. I feel their burdens as if they were my own, even when they neither ask nor want me to. My instinct is to fix, to carry, to shield—but I’ve learned the best thing I can do is pray for them and offer unwavering support through life’s twists and turns. Logic and faith remind me of this truth, but that doesn’t always quiet the storm in my heart.

Caring for aging parents brings its own complexities, layered with pain and, at times, even
contention. How do we provide dignity and support while witnessing the slow decline of
someone we love so deeply? The journey is made harder when siblings differ in their approach, adding tension to an already difficult road. In these moments, I find myself turning once again to prayer, to pressing into the Lord for guidance and strength. He is my anchor. Still, I wrestle with the emotional weight of it all. Maintaining balance—between the needs of others and the cries of my own soul—is perhaps the greatest challenge of all.

Recently, God brought me into a Discipleship group. This community of women has been both a blessing and a challenge. Week after week, they encourage me to be disciplined. To dig deeper into the Word and to be intentional in prayer. As part of our journey, we’ve been reading books of the Bible, including Psalms. Each time I read them, I’m struck by the raw honesty of King David—his fears, joys, and praises poured out to God.

Psalm 29, in particular, is pure praise. It speaks of the power of a storm as a reflection of God’s voice and strength. The Psalm declares the authority of the Lord over all people, even the mighty, and over all creation. It reminds us that the Lord reigns as the eternal King—majestic and all-powerful.

If we embrace what the Psalmist proclaims:
These verses call us to action: to honor God, to surrender to His greatness, and to find peace in His presence. They remind me that the peace I long for isn’t found in controlling outcomes or fixing problems—it’s found in Him. He is the source of all strength, all peace, all hope.

To see peace in Psalm 29 may feel like a stretch at first. Its imagery of storms and power seems anything but calming. But read it again, and let the truth settle into your heart. Peace isn’t the absence of storms—it’s the presence of the Lord within them. The voice that commands the winds and waves is the same voice that whispers to your heart, “Be still.”

This holiday season, or in any tough season, we can find peace—not by avoiding life’s
challenges, but by leaning into the One who reigns over them all.