thesoulpurposedotorg

I am reading Practicing the Presence of Peace by Bear Gebhardt

He uses the term peace in a way that I would use the term Christ or the Holy Spirit but the meaning is the same. Here is a quote to illustrate:

I’ve learned that living in peace is the most practical and most natural and most generous thing we can do for ourselves and for everybody around us,” he said. “I’m convinced that some day everybody will come to understand and practice this simple truth”

The book is a very practical guide to practicing the awareness that all of life is lived within God’s presence. I have experienced this in my life as I continue to learn to live with chronic pain. When I am able to remember, or rather to access the peace that I easily access in meditation, the pain becomes less personal. I even have a sense of somehow bearing this pain as a spiritual practice that somehow is useful to life beyond me.

I’m not sure if I am able to express this very clearly. It isn’t like being a martyr. It is an awareness that whatever the particular pain is, it isn’t about me. It’s about the suffering that we all share just by being human in a fallen world. The pain I experience is from a genetic disorder that cannot be fixed. I have found that merely accepting that pain doesn’t mean that I’ve done something wrong brings a peace in and of itself. But taking it step farther, I see the pain as an invitation to just be in God’s presence. Well, truthfully, that’s on my good days. In the worst of it, my mind just goes numb and I am more like a little child in her fathers arms being rocked and comforted. And my words aren’t so peacable.

I hope this is helpful to someone! I’d love to know of others who have found deeper meaning in their own suffering. Please write. I’d love to hear from you.