Advent Daily Devotional: WEEK of PEACE: DAY 14 – Sat, Dec 11
Peace, peace, to the far and the near, says the Lord; and I will heal them. — Isaiah 57:19
… even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you. — Psalm 139:12
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On this final day of lighting just two candles and focusing on peace, let the light—magnified by the duo of flames—symbolize the heart of peace. By definition, peace is always relational.
It grows first through your inner connection to self, rooted by holistic internal spiritual, emotional, psychological and bodily wellbeing. Then it turns outward to intimate relationships, and beyond such bonds, to communal networks and systems and how these, ideally, sustain the wellbeing of all people and thus support societal peace. Peace also comprehends the significance of human relationships to the environment and the interdependent, reciprocal nature of people to our world.
How does the natural world offer you peace? Is it a place where you go to seek sanctuary? Spend time outside for athletics or to seek creative inspiration? Do you find your connection through other wild, living creatures or in natural settings? Choose time in the mountains or near the water? Do you work in the garden? Keep animals? Feed or watch the birds? Hike in the woods? Fish? Go boating or kayaking? Swim? Ski? Play another sport outside? Work outside? Play outside? Learn outside? Volunteer outside?
Name the ways you interact with the natural world: holy creation. Your home. Humanity’s home.
Then consider, in what ways do you commit to caring for the environment in your part of the world? By your volunteer hours? Your use of natural spaces? Membership in conservation movements? Personal stewardship choices as a consumer or advocate?
When you enact your values in the ways you choose to live, including your connection to the natural world and its inhabitants, you engage the spiritual practice of peace-building at a communal, environmental level.
Light the two candles. Watch how the light grows proportionately when the pair burns together, rather than as a single spark.
Share your light! — Rev Gail
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Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. — John F. Kennedy
There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. – Edith Wharton
Advent Daily Devotional: WEEK of PEACE: DAY 12 -Thurs, Dec 9
Peace be within your walls. — Psalm 122:7
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. — Isaiah 60:1
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The two Advent candles create more light together. The pair of lights suggest a relationship.
Peaceful relationships involve communication, reciprocity, and cooperation. People connected in such a way also recognize, accept, and trust each other.
How do you spend time being present to people with whom you have relationships? How do you ‘show up’? How do they ‘show up’ for you? How do you share time and connection? What forms of communication do you choose? In what ways do you build trust between yourself and others?
Clarity about being ‘okay’ yourself, so that you can be available to someone else, actually strengthens your ability to contribute to relationships. Think of it as the oxygen mask lesson on an airplane, when you are told to put on your own mask first, before assisting someone else. For instance, be sure you continue to be attentive to your own equilibrium via self-care: sleep, exercise, good nutrition, strategies for relaxation and renewal. Set reasonable limits to the way you offer your presence to others, whenever you can establish such boundaries, though sometimes caregivers are in situations that challenge self-care). Always check your boundaries within relationships.
Sometimes, when you are connected to people who are struggling with circumstances outside their control, and beyond your capacity to change, showing up is the most significant contribution you can make. In caregiving circles, this can be called ‘bearing witness.’ Sometimes it takes the shaping of being a consistent presence or companion, perhaps it takes the shape of mentoring or coaching, or just being a friend who listens and hangs out. This attentiveness may often be the best, most significant response you can offer someone.
Ultimately, peaceful relationships permit each participant to honor the light within other(s). Such a bond also enables you to shine your own light, too. Shine on! — Rev Gail
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No person, no place, and no thing has any power over us, for ‘we’ are the only thinkers in our mind.
When we create peace and harmony and balance in our minds, we will find it in our lives. — Louise Hay
Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. — St. Francis de Sales
Advent Daily Devotional: WEEK of PEACE: DAY 11 – Wed, Dec 8
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. — John 14:27
You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways. — Job 22:28
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For today, allow the lighting of candles to be an act of naming the blessings in your life. Let it bring awareness of how you can contribute to peace in your own heart and also in your corner of the world.
As you light each of the candles, name one thing you appreciate. For what are your grateful? Gratitude fosters perspective, which leads to a sense of balance and peace. — Rev Gail
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We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves. — Dalai Lama
No degree of worldly darkness can extinguish the glow of a soul’s inner light. — Wes Fesler
Advent Daily Devotional: WEEK of PEACE: DAY 10 -Tue, Dec 7
Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace—
in peace because they trust in you. — Isaiah 26:3
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord
shall be your rear guard. — Isaiah 58:8
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When you light Advent candles or read and reflect, you are participating in a contemplative practice. Peace grows out of such habits.
Such practices strengthen the spiritual muscles upon which you draw. They create resilience and balance in your body, heart and mind. It can be a still and quiet experience: holding a yoga pose, maintaining a prayer position, or observing utter silence. Sometimes it involves movement of the body such as walking, dancing, or kinesthetic activities like knitting. Maybe it takes the form of unleashing a restless mind through journaling or creative expression. One way or another, set apart time and nurture your spiritual being.
By renewing your energy, you sustain radiance to share and nurture wellbeing to cradle the light within.— Rev Gail
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Sometimes you need to know that you have good people at your back when things go awry in your life.
Good relationships can bring peace of mind, not to mention longer life, companionship, health, happiness, and a host of other benefits. At bottom, we are social creatures who need each other. — Meg Selig
Never fear shadows. They simply mean there’s a light
shining somewhere nearby. – Ruth Renkel