Today’s photo was taken at sunup after our first night spent on the Rideau Waterway in 1982. I still remember a moment of deep, profound peace and tranquility.
These moments have not necessarily been rare in my life, but they have always been fleeting.
Until April 2024 when I awoke one Sunday morning and realized that I had known the feeling for several consecutive days. “Oh well,” I thought, “I’ll just enjoy the feeling until this episode ends …” Six weeks later I was so impressed that the feeling endured that, one Sunday morning, I told someone at church.
Since then this peace has certainly been tested: the ever changing international political climate, the ever changing climate, and this new thing called artificial intelligence. My new peace endured, week after week, month after month.
Last week this peace was tested quite personally when I was hospitalized for eight days with pneumonia. There were long periods, alone, waiting for this to “run it’s course.” Plenty of opportunity to fear death (“I don’t wanna die”) or fear the rest of my life (”I don’t wanna live”) … Not once did this happen, even for a moment. Peace endured.
And yes, I credit this peace to my deepening relationship with Jesus. There are many bible verses that discuss the peace available through Jesus. One of my favourites is “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”
