Little Nudges
Who are the people in your life that you receive nudges of peace from?
Luke 1:59
“Guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Sometimes we need little (or big) nudges to help us find our way to the path of peace. I was recently venting to a friend about an interpersonal conflict and she listened and validated my experiences and then gently checked me about the really severe actions that I had said I was going to take in this relationship.
I’m grateful for her helping me to find my way back onto the path of peace. Now, let’s be clear: sometimes severe actions are needed to protect our personal peace. But in some cases, I think we miss a lot of the peace that’s possible when we jump straight to cutting someone out of our lives. We miss the kind of peace that is rooted in right relationship that’s been through difficulties or finding peace within our own selves that doesn’t have to negate the experiences and dignity of another.
And what’s beautiful about living in community with others is that we get to assist each other in finding our way back to the way of peace when we get off track. We do this in community with ourselves, with our neighbors and chosen ones, with our institutions, and with our broader global community. We need one another to nudge our societies and ourselves into ways of living peaceably.
Who are the people in your life that you receive nudges of peace from? And where might you use your voice or elbow to nudge others onto the path?