Strive for Peace

Psalm 34:14 (NET) - Turn away from evil and do what is right! Strive for peace and promote it!

I have lived in the same neighborhood for many years.

One of its charms is that it tends to be a quiet neighborhood.

Every now and then a vehicle might pass through with the stereo playing too loudly.

Once in a while the sound of a passing siren might disturb the quiet.

These interruptions would normally be brief and the peace would be quickly restored.

Over the years, it became very easy for me to take the quietness for granted,

That all changed a few months ago when a new couple moved into the neighborhood.

Shortly after they moved in, they began to argue.

Little by little, their arguments began to grow both longer and louder.

Early one morning, things took a turn for the worse as each screamed at the other at the top of their lungs.

I was appalled by what I heard.

Then suddenly, the argument came to an abrupt halt.

A look out of my window confirmed my suspicions.

Someone had called the police.

This visit by the police more or less put a stop to the arguments.

It did not however restore quiet.

From that point on, every time the man either left his home or returned to it, he would slam the front door.

Every time he would get in or get out of his vehicle, he would slam the car door.

The slamming of these doors often woke me up at night.

The arguing may have diminished, but the anger had not gone away.

It had simply found a new outlet.

As a Christian, I knew I had to pray about this.

Every time I heard one of those doors slam, I stopped whatever I was doing and prayed for this couple.

I even prayed when it woke me up in the middle of the night.

A few weeks passed this way.

One day, they repacked their belongings and moved.

That sense of quiet has returned to the neighborhood and, to be honest, I appreciate it more than I ever did before.

It is something I no longer take for granted.

Whenever I find myself appreciating the silence, I take it as a reminder from God to pray for this couple.

It is very likely that the anger simply moved along with them.

I continue to pray for them.

I pray for their peace.

Romans 12:21 (NET) - Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, January 22, 2016.

I’ll be back here on Friday, January 29, 2016