Peace

I think my favourite time of the day is the quiet of the evening, when there is one. I always imagine a moment like this: sitting by the window, with the evening sun coming in and casting shadows that grow longer with every passing minute. And it's cool and gently warm at the same time. It's serene, calm. In a setting like our HDB neighbourhood, you hear people coming home, gates opening and closing, traffic from a distance, you smell dinner...

Okay, know what? I correct myself, I don't just like the quiet of the evening, I like the quiet of any time of the day, really. Hah!
Doesn't have to be silent. It's the peace I'm talking about (so office doesn't count). The breather. The pause.

Peace.
Have you heard of the peace prayer of St. Francis of Assisi?

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.


This is just it, that if we are to be instruments of our own lives, we would surely fail, run out of energy, fall apart, or just become old and weak. No doubt about that. But if we are to be instruments of righteousness for God, we will be channels through which He will love His people. We will not run out of energy, we will be renewed and refilled. We will not feel under-appreciated, because the glory goes to God anyway.

Lord, make me Your instrument. While I hand over all my worries and burdens to You, may I also surrender the praises and glories to You.

Most of all, even in seeking to be Your instrument, may my heart's purpose not be to appear as a good Christian and serve myself, but rather to serve You and You only.