P is for Peace

Today's guest blogger introduces herself, tells how we met, about her family... she's left me nothing to do but say, take it away, Tricia! Oh, and if you're looking for an apartment to rent in Lubbock, she's your gal.

Hi, I am Tricia.  I have known Su for many years now, honestly I’m not sure exactly how many.  I met her while she was attending SPCoC and I believe the first encounter was during Bible Bowl and we were doing a skit together in which we were vendors selling popcorn and snacks at a sporting event of some kind.  If you know me at all, you will know that “Peace” is something that is pretty foreign to me but something I long for every single day.  I am the wife of a wonderful man, Rich of 11 years, I have two seniors in high school this year, both are now 18 (yes, previous marriage – Gabby is Rich’s and Tanner is mine) and then I have boy/girl twin 6 year olds in Kindergarten.  For money to help in supporting these wonderful children of ours, I own and operate five apartment communities in the Lubbock area.

Have you taken a moment recently to enjoy peace?  I mean really find and enjoy peace.  Life gets so busy and it never seems to stop, no matter how hard we try to make it slow down or to not take on more.  True peace is hard to come by for me lately.

I know sometimes when I am driving, I will turn off the radio and enjoy the quiet.  However, the peace that I am enjoying isn’t really peace, is it? I am still thinking about where I am going, what I need to do, how to drive the car, how to avoid the crazy people driving around me, what needs to be done tonight, what needs to be done tomorrow, what I need to do for my kids, what I need to do for my husband, what…  The list goes on and on.  I know that I am far from unique in this experience. 

I encourage you to take a moment and find peace-- true peace-- for a few minutes every single day. 

“If you want peace, stop fighting. If you want peace of mind, stop fighting with your thoughts.” – Peter McWilliams

Here are a few things that I find myself trying to do to help myself find peace on a regular basis:

Find the “Off” switch – turn it all off – turn the TV off, turn the phone off, turn the music off.  Take a few minutes each day and just turn everything off, sit in silence and enjoy the peace.  I personally find myself automatically talking to God during this time.  Isn’t it comforting to know that even when you are alone and everything is off and away from you - God is here.  He is wrapping his arms around us to show us that above all else, He is.

Find Happiness in the Little Things – The more time I take to appreciate things that really don’t matter to anyone else but me, the more I find myself at peace with situations that surround me.  I have found that if I really take the time to look and see how perfectly placed life is, I am astounded how perfect God is.  It’s all about his timing, his will.  The sooner we accept this and notice this, the more at peace we will be. 

Obtain the Obtainable – I am preaching to myself on this one.  I have set goals for myself and sometimes I have found that my goal is clearly out of reach.  I know that personally accepting the fact sooner than later will only benefit me in the long run.  I hate constantly trying to figure out what I need to do differently to make it happen, figuring out what I did wrong to keep it from happening, etc.  Change your goal, find another place to focus that will give you that inner peace.

Don’t procrastinate – When I wait until the last minute to do things, I find myself stressed to the max because 10 other things come up that have to be completed today as well.  Take a moment to complete things as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Say NO!  -  This is the hardest thing for me.  I hate to say No, I have this thing inside me that feels like if I say no to something, I will be letting someone down.  I think to myself: if I don’t do this, who will?  The truth of the matter is, it doesn’t matter.  If you are overbooked and there isn’t time for you to do these things, it doesn’t matter who will do it, you have to accept that it can’t be you.  I have learned that by me never saying no, my husband pays, my children pay, my job pays, my spiritual life pays…  Who is winning in this situation?

Hopefully, these ideas will help you as they have helped me and I will pray that you too can find peace every single day of your life. 

“First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others”