Our Peaceful Place

Good morning…

“I don’t think I have hated anyone like this before,” she said. “I can’t stand being around her. I just feel so unsafe, like she might attack me with her words at any time, belittling me in front of everyone, making me feel horrible. I know we are supposed to love our enemies, but I don’t know how to do that. I have never tried to love someone I really hate. How do I do that?”

We talked for a long time, unpacking hard emotions, pondering possibilities. I felt compelled to read aloud to her from a book I am reading: “Sometimes we are so mired in the world we live in, with its temptations, habits, and ways of seeing and feeling, that we don’t even know what is wrong with us; we only know that something is wrong, and we feel helpless. In this case…our human effort may be tiny, but it is still of crucial importance. It consists of calling out to God for help, simply saying, “God help me.” This much we can always do. Obsessive emotions and social situations often act to take away almost all human freedom…but we can always call for help (Roberta C. Bondi’s To Love As God Loves, 36).

In that dawning moment I saw her lightbulb go on. She answered her own question. “In my mind I just need to call out to God for help and envision myself surrounded by God’s protection, safe and secure.” She went on to explain that the key will be, when she is with this feared woman, to abide, to remain, to be at home in God’s presence “like a castle around me with a mote.” Envisioning being gently guarded by God, she explained, will grow a sense of inner peace, and, consciously trying to abide in that place of peace, she can begin to learn to love her enemy with the love of God.

Her breakthrough felt profound. Immediately after our cool conversation, I went to my email and received from a friend the video below, a beautiful video bringing to life Psalm 91. As I watched the whole thing before sharing it with her, I was astounded at God’s perfect timing. Here is an exact depiction of our inner place of peaceful protection, the abiding place where our fears and hatred fall away and we begin to learn to love with the love of God.

God’s perfect timing continues as just a second ago I went to Biblegateway.com and was greeted by this single, preprogrammed verse of the day: Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1, NIV). God’s protective presence is so very palpable.

Enjoy this captivating video as a special Father’s Day gift.

…Sue…

P.S. The adorable photo above is shared freely by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash