Reflections on Peace and Presence

Di [email protected] Dicembre 25, 2024 #Absence, #Acquaintances, #ACT, #Action, #Actions, #Activities, #Add, #Age, #Ali, #all., #Allen, #Alternative, #Amen, #Anger, #Annoying, #Anxiety, #App, #Apply, #Approach, #Art, #Attention, #Authentic, #Avoid, #Avoiding, #Based, #Beat, #Beats, #Beautiful, #Beginning, #Big, #Body, #Book, #Brand, #Breathe, #Breathing, #Breathwork, #Bring, #Build, #Building, #Busy, #Call, #Called, #Calls, #Calm, #Car, #Card, #Care, #Celebrate, #Center, #Centered, #Centre, #challenge, #Challenges, #Change, #Check, #Chilly, #Chris, #Church, #clear, #Comfort, #Common, #communicate, #Communities, #Community, #Companions, #Company, #Complete, #Condition, #Conditions, #Connected, #connection, #Connections, #Cons, #CONSIDERED, #Constant, #Core, #Courage, #Create, #Creating, #Cry, #Cult, #Culture, #Dad, #Daily, #Daniel, #Dark, #Darkness, #Day, #Days, #DECISION, #Decor, #Decoration, #Deep, #Deliberate, #Die, #Dies, #Difficult, #Direction, #Disconnected, #Discover, #Discovering, #Distractions, #diverse, #Don, #Drain, #Dying, #Early, #Earn, #Easy, #Eating, #Eats, #Ebook, #Edit, #Effect, #Effective, #efficient, #Effort, #Emotion, #Emotions, #Empath, #Empathy, #Encourage, #Energy, #Environment, #Event, #Exam, #Examples, #Excitement, #Expect, #Experience, #Experiences, #Expert, #Face, #Faith, #Family, #Favor, #Favorite, #Fear, #Feel, #Feeling, #Feelings, #feels, #Final, #Find, #FINDING, #Finds, #Firm, #Fix, #Fixed, #Focus, #FOLLOW, #Food, #Form, #Foster, #Free, #Friend, #Friends, #Full, #Fully, #Fun, #gain, #General, #Generosity, #Gentle, #Genuine, #Gift, #Give, #God, #Good, #Gratitude, #great, #Greatest, #Grief, #Ground, #Group, #Grow, #Growth, #Guest, #Habit, #Hales, #happened, #Hard, #Heal, #Healing, #Health, #Hear, #Heart, #Helped, #Helping, #High, #Hold, #Holiday, #Holidays, #HOLY, #Home, #Hope, #Hosting, #House, #Husband, #Hype, #Ice, #Ideas, #Ike, #IMPACT, #Important, #Include, #Intentional, #Internet, #Issue, #Ive, #Joe, #John, #Jon, #Journey, #Joy, #KeR, #Key, #Kind, #Kindness, #Kinds, #Kitchen, #Las, #Late, #Learn, #Learned, #Leave, #Lets, #Life, #Light, #Line, #Link, #List, #Live, #Lives, #Living, #Long, #Longer, #Lose, #Lot, #Love, #loved, #Making, #Man, #Manger, #Married, #Mary, #Massive, #Matter, #Meal, #Meaning, #Meaningful, #Means, #Media, #Meditation, #Meditations, #Melancholy, #MEMBER, #Members, #Men, #Mental, #Met, #Method, #Methods, #Min, #Mind, #Mini, #MIT, #Modern, #Moment, #Moments, #Morning, #Move, #Mul, #Music, #Naomi, #nest, #Nico, #Night, #Number, #Obvious, #Occur, #Ode, #Open, #Order, #Organize, #Ould, #Overwhelm, #Overwhelmed, #Pai, #Pain, #Painful, #Parent, #Part, #Pass, #Path, #Pause, #Peace, #Peak, #People, #Perfect, #Person, #Personal, #PhD, #pieces, #place, #Plan, #Plant, #Plays, #Pleasure, #Point, #Post, #Posts, #Potential, #Practice, #Practices, #Pray, #Prepare, #Presence, #Present, #Press, #Pressure, #Pro, #Process, #Progress, #Psychological, #Push, #Put, #Quest, #Quick, #Rain, #Rape, #RDs, #Reach, #Read, #Reading, #Ready, #Real, #Receive, #Recognize, #recommend, #RECOMMENDATION, #Red, #Reflection, #Reflections, #RELATION, #Relational, #Relationship, #Relationships, #Remember, #Rest, #Ring, #Roa, #Role, #Room, #Rounded, #Rule, #Ruth, #Sad, #Sanctuary, #Sea, #Search, #Season, #Send, #Sense, #Serve, #set, #Setting, #Shape, #share, #shared, #Ships, #Short, #Show, #Sickness, #Side, #Significance, #Signs, #Simple, #Sit, #Skill, #Small, #Songs, #Soul, #Space, #Spaces, #Speak, #SPEC, #special, #spot, #Spotlight, #Stand, #Start, #started, #Starting, #Stay, #Staying, #step, #Stick, #Stones, #Store, #Stories, #Story, #Strange, #Strategies, #Stress, #Stressful, #Struggle, #Struggles, #Study, #stuff, #Super, #Support, #Symptoms, #System, #table, #Talk, #Task, #Team, #Tech, #Technique, #Techniques, #Tend, #Test, #Thinking, #Thought, #Thoughts, #Throw, #Tim, #Time, #Times, #Today, #Tough, #Town, #Track, #tradition, #Traditional, #Tree, #trip, #Truth, #Turn, #Turned, #Understand, #usand, #Version, #Vision, #Visit, #Voted, #Waiting, #Wanted, #Ways, #Wealth, #wealthy, #Week, #Weigh, #Weight, #Weve, #Win, #word, #Words, #Work, #Workers, #Working, #World, #Write, #Writing, #year, #Years

At Sanctuary this Christmas, we’re specializing in peace—its significance within the Christmas story and the position it performs in our religion at present. Peace isn’t merely the absence of worry or nervousness. Peace is experiencing the presence of God. The Hebrew definition of peace is shalom. One of many methods we perceive shalom is thru the lens of reconciled or restored relationships—first with God, after which with self and others. Sanctuary Ambassador Rev. John Swinton, PhD writes: “The core which means of shalom is justice, righteousness, proper relationship with God… God’s presence provides us hope, companionship, and the opportunity of one thing past the immediacy of our current misery.”

This yr, we invite you to replicate on the methods you deliberately make room to expertise God’s presence, be current to your self, and be current to others throughout the Christmas season. There is likely to be particular practices that assist orient you in the direction of God’s presence, have interaction in self-care, or are inclined to the relationships you may have with your loved ones, associates, or religion group. Our workforce has shared a couple of examples of what this appears to be like like for us, in addition to practices that assist our personal psychological well being journeys within the midst of the calls for of the Christmas season. We even have some recommendations on learn how to “plant peace” in our communities, creating areas that foster peace and assist for individuals residing with psychological well being challenges.

We hope these examples encourage you to organize room for peace and presence this season.

Table of Contents

From Nicole

One among my favorite components of the yr is Creation: that stretch of time beginning 4 Sundays earlier than Christmas Day. I like leaning into the component of ready on and hoping for Jesus, in search of indicators of God’s gentle and presence which might be a part of Creation. One particular observe to assist me as I search to give attention to expectancy is to gentle candles as I transfer by Creation. Very similar to some church buildings will do every Sunday of Creation, I arrange 5 candles on my kitchen desk and light-weight them one by one all through December. The way in which that candles throw their gentle gently into darkness is a poignant reminder of God’s presence in each season of our lives. I’ll additionally learn or pray one thing associated to Creation in order that I decelerate a bit and sit within the second. I sit up for Christmas Day once I lastly get to gentle that final candle and rejoice the approaching of Jesus. The mix of the candles, the studying, and my specially-curated Creation playlist mix to bolster my openness to the presence of God within the midst of my day by day life, nevertheless that day by day life is taking form on the time.

From Victoria

Some individuals love the darker nights and colder days. I’m not considered one of them, though I do take pleasure in seeing all of the festive lights. Nevertheless, that is the time of yr I get to mix two of my favorite issues: Christmas carols and Christmas playing cards. I write and mail not less than 100 playing cards annually, sending them far and vast to household, associates, former co-workers, and acquaintances. I believe it’s a beautiful solution to let individuals know you’re considering of them, even if you happen to’re not significantly shut in relationship or distance.

I write these Christmas playing cards whereas listening to a playlist that features Away In a Manger, Silent Night time, O Little City of Bethlehem, and extra modern music akin toDiscover My Peace by Naomi Raine orPeace by Norah Jones. These songs additionally remind me of the very individuals I’m writing to, and those that are now not with us. I discover the peaceable melodies good firm as I think about the duty at hand, and they’re additionally songs crammed with hope.

From Maddie

A practice that my husband and I began the yr we bought married is making a yearly time capsule decoration. As we begin Christmas adorning in early December, we take time to look again on the yr and replicate on what occurred. I minimize out little items of paper that we write on, then roll them up and stuff them into a transparent decoration. Annually we dangle up a brand new decoration on the tree and might peek at what we wrote in earlier years.

Inside we spotlight issues like journeys, massive occasions, accomplishments, and milestones. Even within the years after we really feel like nothing actually occurred, this devoted time to pause and actually look at our yr helps us get out of the mundane and strange to see the particular moments we need to keep in mind.

It is a observe that connects us to one another and to God as we keep in mind God’s faithfulness and provision for our household. It fills my coronary heart with gratitude as we wrap up the yr and see how God has been so good to us!

Doing this additionally makes us replicate on the tougher seasons or moments that we skilled up to now yr. In 2023, we seen that there have been a number of issues that had been draining us and never working properly. This reflective exercise turned a chance to look forward to the following yr and make some modifications to assist our bodily, psychological, and relational well being.

From Nathan

One specific observe which helps me (re)orient in the direction of God’s peaceable presence throughout a season which may include added pressures is taking time within the early morning to learn and replicate on well-worn copies of Henri Nouwen’s Watch for the Lord: Every day Creation Meditations & Prayers and Joel Heck’s A Grand Miracle: Devotions for the Days of Creation based mostly on ideas of C.S. Lewis.

Annually, I’m impacted in new methods by the day by day Creation meditations and devotions discovered inside these two booklets. Just lately, an insightful thought from Nouwen prompted me to replicate on God and his peace. Nouwen writes, “If God merely is (with no starting or finish), however but additionally was and is to return once more, then God’s peace additionally merely is, but additionally was, and additionally is to return once more. And since His peace is, it additionally at all times has been and at all times will likely be out there: to me, to you, and the world. Jesus offers peace to us freely now (John 14:27) and He will even carry good peace when He comes once more to reign once more because the Prince of it (Revelation 1:7, Isaiah 9:6).”
Irrespective of the annoying state of affairs I’m in or the strain I’ll really feel this time of yr, I attempt to keep in mind (and discover reassurance once I do) that the Prince of Peace’s unworried and unhurried presence merely is, that it is with me and provided freely to me within the secondI’m in. I keep in mind that someday, the one who’s peace perfected will come once more to reign and rule with peace over all.

From Chelsea

I like internet hosting family and friends, and our home is commonly the gathering place throughout the holidays. I hope that when individuals enter my house, they really feel they’ll come as they’re—while not having to placed on a masks or faux. I hope when friends go away my house, they really feel like their cups have been crammed by individuals who love them it doesn’t matter what state they’re in. The way in which I assist foster that setting is by exhibiting up as my genuine self and permitting others to see me as I’m that day too. For instance, this yr will likely be my first Christmas since my dad handed away, and I’m sure he’ll be on my thoughts at instances. It’s a chance to speak about what I’m feeling in the mean time, share tales about him if it feels proper, cry if I have to, and permit others to be there for me in my grief.

From Corin

Within the centre of London the place I stay, there’s fixed stimulus. At instances it’s a pleasure to have entry to a lot wealthy tradition inside simple attain, however there are different pressures of metropolis life to cope with. Staying grounded in day by day devotional practices provides me a deep sense of peace.

One factor I’ve discovered is that discovering a centered and peaceable outlook depends on me first tuning into my physique. I discovered my religion in a convention that valued opening the Bible as the primary activity of the day. But, what if my thoughts is preoccupied or anxious and the phrases I learn within the Bible don‘t stick? It has taken me round thirty years to appreciate that earlier than I could be receptive, I have to nonetheless my thoughts. Calming my thoughts is simply attainable once I attend to regulating my nervous system.

I’ve a few go-to breathwork strategies that assist calm me. If I get up feeling a little bit out of kinds, then I would take time to observe 7/11 respiratory: inhaling on seven beats and out on eleven. If I’ve signs of tension, akin to racing ideas, I do a observe the place I breathe in thirty quick breaths by my mouth, maintain for thirty seconds, then do thirty lengthy exhales. The sense of peace arrives as a present. My thoughts is obvious and I can obtain the reward of Scripture for that day with out distractions. This efficient observe is now not only a method of making ready for devotions; it’s a key part of serving to me discover God’s peace in varied conditions.

From Rachel

I’ve been nurtured by so many individuals by meals. Once I lived in Bolivia, our landlord, Anna Maria, would knock on our door what felt like each different day throughout the chilly season, at all times bringing one thing small—a tray of cookies, a mug of home made sizzling chocolate, or, at Christmas, a bowl of conventional soup known as Picana. My Spanish wasn’t superb again then so it was tough to speak at instances, however by her persistent generosity, we fashioned a relationship.

In a newer tough season, I visited a good friend, and she or he instinctively placed on a pot of soup as she listened to me vent. She by no means requested if I used to be hungry—although I suppose it didn’t matter anyhow. What I wanted most was soul nourishment, which got here as we warmed our fingers over the bowls and slurped one thing heat and comforting. No, a pot of soup or a tray of cookies doesn’t repair seasons of languishing or take away the ache in our lives. However I like how this season is brimming with alternatives to point out up for the individuals we care about and nurture {our relationships} by easy acts like making ready meals.

Although I generally get caught up within the flurry of vacation baking and potlucks, I’m reminded of how small acts of kindness have constructed significant connections that helped me expertise peace throughout onerous seasons. Might I study from those that have nourished me and do the identical for others this Christmas.

From Lizzy

One of many ways in which I attempt to plant peace in my group is by being a greeter at my church. It’s vital to me that folks really feel welcomed and listened to, whether or not it’s their first time at church or their thousandth. At our church, now we have individuals from various backgrounds and experiences come by our doorways. Once I’ve been greeting, some individuals have disclosed to me that they’re residing with psychological well being challenges or that they’ve been recognized with a psychological sickness. In these circumstances, they only wished somebody to hearken to a little bit little bit of their story for a couple of minutes. I consider that listening with empathy and making an effort to be relational with all members of the physique of Christ are two small methods to plant peace in our communities.

From Daniel

Slowing right down to face the areas of ache and dissonance in our lives is usually a tough however mandatory course of. It requires us to step away from the fixed distractions and busyness that so typically devour our days, and as a substitute flip inward to truthfully confront the challenges and struggles we could also be avoiding.

In my very own life, I’ve discovered that the week after Christmas typically pulls me to decelerate and replicate. The vitality and pleasure of the vacations can go away me feeling drained and disconnected. One yr, I keep in mind sitting alone within the dim gentle of my front room a couple of days after Christmas, overwhelmed by a way of melancholy. Relatively than push by it, I made a decision to easily be current with these emotions.

Once we flip inward like this, we will open ourselves as much as emotions of vulnerability and even anguish. However it’s in these susceptible moments that we may additionally discover the best potential for progress and reference to the Divine. By staying current and permitting ourselves to completely inhabit these painful areas, we create house for God’s therapeutic presence to enter in.

Might you expertise the presence and peace that comes from God this Christmas!

To see extra self-care practices and festive actions that the Sanctuary workforce finds significant, take a look at these posts from earlier years.

Cowl photograph by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Merry Christmas!

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