I spent a warm afternoon last week curled up on the couch with a book, trying to shut out the noise of the world and the anxiety creeping into my day. As I sat there in my favorite spot, I read a sentence that stopped me, it talked of protecting our personal peace.
I put the book down and wondered what was I doing in my life every day to protect my peace. How was I living that reality? Was I living that reality?
Was I resting in the truth that Christ spoke, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).
We must protect our peace because it is God given.
I have spent years in counseling, reading books, and even taken medication to help me cope with the severe anxiety diagnosis I have been facing over half of my life. I’m in a constant fight for peace. I am always doing the work of protecting my mind and heart, keeping them fixed on Christ. That is my reality.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)
Protecting our peace looks like putting boundaries in place, kicking triggers out of our lives, and saying “no” or “yes” to a multitude of things. It looks like making a list and sticking with it, and never apologizing for it.
I was ruthless when I sat down with my counselor to make a list of what needed to be done in my life in order to calm the chaos and guard my heart. My family has looked at me funny, my friends have questioned my decisions, but each one was needed.
Protecting one’s peace will look different for each of us.
There are 10 simple boundaries, safe guards, choices that needed to be made in my life. Some are no doubt easier than others, but it is exactly what is needed.
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