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My love for Christmas is a joy that runs deep in my soul.  Yes, it’s the end of August, but this is when I begin to hear the faint sounds of jingle bells.  This isn’t a recent development; as Mama always jokingly said, “Lynn’s fascination with the season started the day she was born!”   

The folks at Hobby Lobby must share my Christmas DNA.  When they fill their shelves with elves, poinsettias, ornaments, ribbons, and all things Christmas in mid-summer, I can’t help but start singing carols and making my gift lists.   

My friend Deborah and I are kindred spirits when it comes to Christmas.  We both share a profound love for the season.  Our excitement as we explore the aisles, brimming with ideas to make each holiday more exuberant than the last, is a testament to Christmas’s joy. 

By December 25, 2024, we will be more than grateful for the holidays.  A contentious election will be over, and reminders of the birth of Jesus will calm our souls.  By then, we will all need a “come to Jesus” meeting.

The night our Savior was born, a host of angels appeared in the heavens and proclaimed to the world, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.”  Luke 2: 14 

The word ‘PEACE’ appears 429 times in the Bible.  Its use clearly indicates God’s desire for us to live in harmony and exhibit generosity and respect toward one another.    

For example, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.”  Matthew 5:9   How many of us relish peacemaking?

“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice!  Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, and live in PEACE.  And the love of God and peace will be with you.”  2 Corinthians 13:11.

Peace is only achieved with compassion and kindliness toward others.  To thrive in a more agreeable, cohesive environment, we should all show goodwill toward our fellow human beings daily. 

Trust me, we all have different opinions and strong beliefs about our government and who we want as leaders.  However, when our views break our friendships or cause friction within our families, we ignore the one who came into our world to bring us love, stability, and hope.

Over the past few years, I have noticed how folks gather with people who agree with them regarding politics.  The division is evident among our friends, family, and business associates.  We whisper to avoid arguments and wonder how we lost the camaraderie and pleasant interactions we once enjoyed.

Seeing two sides of an argument and bonding to form an accord bridges gaps, builds respect, spawns solutions, and encourages growth.  This respectful dialogue and consensus-building process is crucial in resolving conflicts and promoting peace.  Do we not want to leave children an improved world, or would we rather keep making a fuss?

  None of us will be joyful until we live in unity and work together to allow peace to reign in our homes and relationships. 

A reader in north Georgia wrote to me during the pandemic in 2020 that her friends had ostracized her because she believed in the new vaccine, but they did not.  She felt alone and abandoned by the very folks she loved.  Like so many of us, she prayed for peace, healing, and a restoration of brotherly love.  We didn’t need to fight with each other as folks lay dying in hospitals and homes across our land. 

Instead, we needed to pray together.

Sadly, a reader reached out to a stranger who writes about kindness to find kindness. 

When our battles over our personal ideology divide us and cause pain, we fail.   We are not the peacemakers, the sons and daughters of God, nor the encouragers.   We are losers.

Peace is a beautiful word; we don’t need a war to remind us how precious it is.  Graves of the soldiers who gave their lives for us to live in harmony and freedom dot the landscape of this earth.   They are the finest peacemakers, the sons of God, and the heroes of all Americans.    Let’s remember them before we open our mouths to spew discouraging, disparaging words that create more bitterness and wrath between each other. 

For most of my life, church services ended with the minister saying, “Go in peace” or “Peace be with you.”   I finally reasoned that the only way for us to move forward in peace is to create it.

Hobby Lobby doesn’t sell it, and God doesn’t hand it over, but He asks us to find it, use it, and establish goodwill toward one another regardless of our differences.

Perhaps it is then that we will sleep in heavenly peace on a silent night.