Got Peace?

Bill Porter wrote a book entitled Road to Heaven concerning his search for Taoist and Buddhist hermits in the Chungnan mountains in China in 1989. In this book, Porter remembers a Chinese saying, “The small hermit lives on a mountain. The great hermit lives in a town.”

Recently I was listening to a teaching series by Graham Cooke and he was talking about finding peace in God. He said retreating into the quiet place with God is a skill learned through discipline. He further said no matter what his circumstances or where he is, he can become peaceful in under 5 seconds.

I struggle to find perfect peace, what the Bible refers to as “shalom shalom” in the most ideal circumstances!

Porter goes on to recall a conversation with a monk. The monk was asked, “Is it a good place because it’s quiet?” and the monk replied, “If people are quiet, they can be quiet anywhere.”

I also recall a book (Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbers) where the author was discussing her time in Indonesia. She said mothers of young children would take their kids to the doctor (a type of medicine man) if the kids were too hyperactive. She said by American standards, these “hyperactive” kids were practically comatose because they would sit quietly with their mothers for hours waiting to be seen. But the locals thought the inability to sit and be quiet was sign of a serious illness and disorder – to be honest, I agree.

So I pursue peace . . . peace in God, the ability to be quiet, to rest, to listen. I don’t always succeed, but I try.

REMEMBER: I have one copy of White Picket Fences by Susan Meissner I'm giving away tomorrow. To enter the random drawing, send your mailing address to seewhykinsman@gmail.com. The winner will be drawn tomorrow, Friday, November 13th. Good luck.