Meditation in Eastertide ~ Tuesday, Week 4: Peace in the Chaos?

April 23, 2024 ~ Tuesday, Week 4

 

Peace is not something you can force on anything or anyone... much less upon one's own mind. It is like trying to quiet the ocean by pressing upon the waves. Sanity lies in somehow opening to the chaos, allowing anxiety, moving deeply into the tumult, diving into the waves,

where underneath, within, peace simply is.

~ Gerald G. May*

Lord of the Deepest Peace,

      There are so many days I see that the world around me is in such chaos ~ whirling, often in Your name, in violence, poverty, pain, and cruelty to others who are not part of whatever group calls themselves "us." I am at such a loss trying to know in which direction to turn, which good cause needs me the most. What can I possibly do to make any kind of useful difference? I am merely the tiniest pebble in the hole of a huge dyke that strains against impending disaster. In those moments I close myself off from the noise of my inner turmoil. And then, taking a breath, I remember You and my prayer begins again. 

     Grant me the stillness within myself to simply stop, to breathe deeply, and allow that inner peace to flow outwardly, to everyone I meet whatever the time, place, or circumstance. My footing is more certain when Your peace is in my heart and my soul takes its ease in Your comfort. In Your presence, accepting things as they are, even in chaotic times, the quietness within grows, calms, and strengthens me. From there, with You, I can keep moving forward until a purposeful direction becomes clear. Each morning, noon, and night, and all times in between, I can breathe You in again. amen.  

*Gerald Gordon May, [1940-2005] was an American psychiatrist and theologian, and as a conscientious objector, worked as an Air Force psychiatrist in Vietnam. After his work in Vietnam, he was a staff psychiatrist in a prison mental hospital in Maryland. He later became a senior fellow at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Bethesda, Maryland conducting workshops in contemplative theology and psychology. He wrote several books on the subject of combining spiritual direction with psychological therapy. 

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