My mom is a person who does things because she believes they are right. She will be the first to defend something she believes in. She shares what she believes. She speaks up about what she believes. And she lives what she believes.
Growing up, I never questioned that my mom believed. Actually, that's not entirely true. I remember one time as a teenager, asking her if she ever just wanted to do something that was wrong.
Just because.
I certainly felt like it sometimes and felt frustrated with her seeming perfectness. She looked at me with the saddest expression and simply said no. It is evident in her actions what she believes in. And that is a perfect definition of faith.
Because faith is not just believing.
Faith is acting on what we believe.
And if that faith is founded in the Savior, then we will feel true peace in our lives. When we are trying to live in a way that reflects what we believe, we feel peace.
Throughout my life, my mom has been an example to me and a guide to follow as I learn to develop my own faith in Jesus Christ.
This post is going to be quite different than any I've shared for a long time. And that's because it's deeply personal and not at all crafty :) However, I feel impressed to share an experience I had when I felt an overpowering sense of peace through my Savior.
I share this to coincide with the #PrinceOfPeace Easter campaign from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I'll explain more about what this is after I share my story.
It all started a couple years ago with a phone call from my husband. It was the middle of the day and not at all unusual, since he often calls to check in when he's at work. What was unusual, was his choked up voice and the first words out of his mouth: "Sherwood's been shot, he's alive, but another officer has been killed."
You see, my husband is a police officer and a nightmare was unfolding. Things like this just don't happen in our area. Do you know what scared me the most? It was the fact that the man who's not afraid of anything sounded scared. He said he didn't know when he'd be home. He was going to stay and help. I didn't get any details. I hung up the phone with a feeling of complete terror.
My three older kids were on their way home from school. Leaving my preschooler inside, I went out to look down the street to see if they were coming, wanting to rush them inside quickly and keep them safe. I also needed time to compose myself. Thoughts like "How can I continue to send my husband off to work?" "What if I have to raise my children alone?" and "How could I raise my children to choose right in such a terrible world?" flooded my brain. I felt I was drowning in fear, panic, and dread.
I turned my thoughts into a prayer, pleading with my Heavenly Father. I wanted to raise my kids to believe as I did. To have the faith that my mom taught me. But at the moment it felt impossible with the appalling events happening around me. How could I accomplish that when the opposing forces for evil were so blatantly invading my life?
I remember the exact spot I was standing in the driveway when it happened. It was as if a switch had been flipped. Instantly, I felt an intense, overpowering sense of peace. So strong were the feelings of peace that the fear and panic vanished immediately.
The circumstances had not changed. But somehow, my feelings had. I felt the love, strength and peace of my Savior. I felt as Paul, who said "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" {Phillippians 4:13} I was no longer worried about the very real and hard questions I had had just moments before. Instead, I felt confident that through faith in Christ, I could do what was required of me. Whatever that might be.
My husband eventually came home from work. Not everyone did that day. I pray that the families involved were able to feel the peace and comfort of the Savior, as they needed it so much more than I did.
How can we come to feel peace?
It's a question many of us may ask as we go through hard times. As you may know, I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I'm excited to share with you a message from our church. It's an initiative from the church that will help us to focus on Jesus Christ this Easter Season. The campaign is called #PrinceOfPeace. It specifically focuses on the peace we can feel through our Savior.
But the effort doesn't end there. Each day leading up to Easter Sunday there will be a new video sharing a different principle of peace:
Faith
Compassion
Forgiveness
Repentance
Gratitude
Scripture {God's Word}
Prayer
Hope
These daily clips will each focus on one of these principles of peace. Along with each video is an invitation to implement that principle in our lives, so that we can feel the peace our Savior has to offer us. I'll be sharing more soon about how I'll incorporate these principles into my family's Easter week with a fun craft/decoration for our home: Easter Egg Countdown Banner
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