“Is it in here?” I asked, looking into my son’s ear. He shook his head no, so I asked the same question again, looking into his nose, mouth, and belly button. This was a game I used to play with my son when he was three years old called “Where’s your Peace?” Whenever he would get worked up and had trouble calming back down, we would play a game of “looking” for his peace inside various body parts. Typically, it would end in laughter or at least a giggle that would aid in regulating his emotions.
I will always remember one day we were playing in his bed, and he was responding each time with a sad “no” until I said, “Well then, honey, where is your peace?” He put his little hand on my chest, looked up at me, and said, “It’s right here.” Then, my five-year-old daughter started dancing around the room, spontaneously singing, “Peace I carry, peace I carry, peace I carry for you!” I don’t know how much my little children understood their profound acts in that moment, but I was forever changed.
Just as the Holy Spirit lives in us and shares with us His fruit (the fruit of the Spirit)– love, joy, peace, etc– I can share my peace with my children for them to tangibly feel and experience when they are lacking themselves. The Lord has taught me a lot about His peace and how to walk in it regardless of my circumstances. What a beautiful residual blessing that when I choose peace, I get to share it with those I love.