Gentle Ways To Press Into Peace

Pressing into peace is an action I’m finally utilizing after my 33 years here on earth.

Peace seemed like a dream-like fairytale, something that could never coexist in my anxious presence.

The truth is, I felt the most peace in my life on my wedding day, and not because everything went smoothly, according to plan.

Forced to deal with a few uncomfortable fears that day, I was thankful, none of which resulted in tears.

The only thing left to do was to lean on God.

Events that day seemed like a laughable movie sequence, like a bee getting caught on the back of my dress near my waist, trapped in lace. Kevin’s first duty as husband was saving my life, smacking that sucker before it stung.

Talk about trusting the process…

Keep in mind, I had been anxiously awaiting this fate for years, especially having a mid-September wedding.

Oh, and I'm very allergic, so while I remained poised, I was secretly and frantically praying internally. Thankfully, we didn’t have to rush to the ER, and I didn’t miss a second of the reception.

A couple of other hiccups happened, like spending over an hour before the reception, pressing and patting my dress back to ivory perfection.

It was quite an unexpected wedding present from an unknown dog at a nearby park. The mess covered the bottom of my dress, right in the center, of course.

Despite these circumstances and more, everything regarding ceremony and reception was seamless!

As I mentioned, I was eerily calm on my wedding day. It certainly was a day like no other. I was drunk on love, taking every sip in stride, and nothing else mattered.

It still was, in fact, perfect.

How did I deal with such incredible luck?

I pressed into peace as if my life depended on it.

When faced with uneasy truths, we can:

Press into trust.

Press into strength.

Press into the unknown with faith.

Then we can genuinely press into peace—the calm despite the storm.

At that point, I asked, “What else could go wrong?”

In a sense, I was over it. The stressing, overthinking and narrating the script, I was over it all. Not because I didn’t care, but knew I could handle anything.

I quickly erased all thoughts, and peace immensely entered my heart.

When we overcome the overwhelm, gratitude can gently warm our souls.

Here are five easy truths to remember:

• Focus on the bigger picture; panic can melt away.

• Tranquillity can exist after anxiety.

• Following our gut means speaking our truth; when we control our minds and articulate that with others, we feel secure and prepared for what follows next.

• Accept the rest of what we cannot control. We can not force the world to be in our favor. Things will happen accordingly, despite desperate pleading and planning. Our plan may not be THE master plan.

• We will always learn more from the unexpected. The payoff is undoubtedly greater.

Ask yourself: What brings a sense of calm, familiarity?

With every slow breath, take it all in.

Let’s lean into what brings stillness to our day.

When we focus on happiness and love, we can make room for the ultimate gift: peace.

Let’s lean into peace as the seasons change.

Let’s lean into peace as we enter a new era.

Love,

Kimberly Ann