A Constant Song of Peace

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27).

There you are again!

Your gentle crooning breaks the morning silence and stirs something deep within me, something primal and necessary to my breath and life. As you bring a message of peace for the day, drops of water cling and shimmer like diamonds on the leaves of freshly blooming peonies in the garden. They bob their fragrant heads, nodding in assent. 

Peace I leave with you.

Faithful mourning dove, messenger of God, you have been with me everywhere I have ever lived.

Some find your call sorrowful. I believe it is fitting that you would be the messenger of the Giver of Peace, the one who turns our mourning and sorrows into joy as we trust Him.

I remember your song in the dewy mountain mornings of my childhood. Entranced, I would rush outside and search for you. I longed for a glimpse of your downy grey form watching me from the hillside behind my bedroom window.

As God’s special sentry, you played a central role in my developing imagination. From Noah’s reassurance to Jesus’ affirmation, right down the ages to a girl looking for God, you have been appointed again and again to proclaim peace.

As a young woman on the other side of the world, I awakened to your song while our African village yet slumbered. Through the purple mist, you heralded the coming day and brought peace to my anxious heart as I arose to continue my work among the suffering and destitute. 

From my rooftop in an exotic Arab city I heard your message while, exhausted and weary, I hung my newborn baby’s clothes on the line before the heat of the day. I see you. Let not your heart be troubled. I will give you rest, you seemed to say. 

Across worlds, your message to me has always had the same effect on my heart and mind. You are okay. You are loved. Be at peace. Do the work. Rest in Me. 

From morning’s first light, your constant song has reminded me my peace comes from the gentle Messiah. 

The #peace Jesus gives is not like the world gives. Click To Tweet

It is peace without having to know what may come. His peace silences fear in the strong grip of a safe embrace. The peace He gives smooths away trouble like the hand of a gentle grandmother stroking the tousled hair of a child, settling a little one who could not calm her crying on her own. 

My Jesus left peace for me, and He continues to give it to me every day, in every place. 

Lord, thank You for the peace You give. Calm my troubled heart today and silence my fear with Your peace. Amen.

@audreycfrank