let there be peace on earth

If I believed, before, that a defense of temporary insanity was a bunch of hogwash, I now knew differently. 

I truly did lose my mind.

The roads were terribly icy, and snow was coming down. I was dismayed they weren’t given a snow day but was taking the twenty-five minute drive to my daughter’s school slowly and carefully. About half way there, a bigger vehicle came up behind mine on the curvy, two-lane road and stayed on my bumper for about a mile until we came to a red light. 

When I looked in my rearview mirror, I saw the woman driver pressing her two middle fingers against the inside of her windshield and turning bright purple from the screaming she appeared to be directing my way.  

How dare her? I thought. Without taking a second to breathe, I threw my car into park, whipped the door open, and marched straight back to her driver’s side window. 

She rolled it down, and I said, “What’s your problem? Don’t you see how terrible the roads are?”

She replied, “You’re the problem, you #$@&%*!” I was convinced her head was about to explode. She continued yelling and calling me every possible swear word under the sun.

All I could come up with was, “I feel so sorry for you right now.”  I said that about three times while she cussed and shrieked. Then, noticing the light turning green and cars forming behind us, I said, “God bless you” and walked back to my car.  

My daughter was extremely upset. She cried, “Mom, you could’ve been run over!” and “You could’ve been shot!” She was right … It was a terrible decision to get out of the car and leave her sitting there to witness that scene. I’m mad at myself and ashamed for setting that kind of example.

We really can’t control when angry feelings arrive in our bodies and minds, but we can control what we do with them—if we care to and if we have a plan ahead of time. My sudden fury took me wholly by surprise. When I left the house that morning, the last thing I expected was a confrontation with another person along the road.

But why didn’t I expect it?

Shouldn’t we expect some daily discord and friction?

Our world is fallen and full of imperfect people (like me), and I realize it wouldn’t be a bad idea to plan for and anticipate, even before arising, that situations of conflict may be waiting on the other side of warm blankets. No, we should never go looking for trouble, but we should give trouble a little foresight and preparation.

The Bible guarantees that we’ll all have moments or seasons of struggle, but it’s comforting to know that those times are never a surprise to our Savior—He redeems them all.

John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!”

When an abrupt and heated circumstance is personally presented to you, are you ready to be a peacemaker? How can we equip ourselves to diffuse, and not inflame, hostility?

I want peace on earth, among all nations and all people, and I know that the unity and love I yearn for has to begin with me in my heart and home. That morning I let indignation get the better of me, and I pray in future I’ll do much better.

If I could have a do-over, I wouldn’t have gotten out of the car. I would’ve stopped, taken a deep breath, and prayed for a fellow human being having an awful time. Then I would have pulled over to let her drive right on by.

Romans 12:17-18 says “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.  Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”  

Each day, I’d like to be found guilty of this one thing—believing the best in others.

Obviously, it wasn’t this stranger’s finest hour, but it surely wasn’t mine either. I suspect that in the same way I regret my behavior that day two years ago, she does also.

How can we shut down offensive actions and defensive reactions and replace them with empathetic responses? What can we do (or not do) everyday to be a catalyst for peace?

In usual, sane moments, I know these questions are important to wrestle with and to have an answer and resolution for. How about you?

God, please guide us with wisdom, patience, and self-control, and bless us on our journeys.

James 3: 17 and 18   “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure.  It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others.  It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no partiality and is always sincere.  And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness.”