The Practice

of peace

I look for it
       in the setting sun
              and the colors of the sky
	               over the mountaintops caked with snow

       in the flicker of a candle flame
		as the day begins
		       and I sit with my thoughts

	in the red letters
		spoken to me and to us all
			by the true Source of peace

I seek it
	after speaking a harsh word
		to the boys in my house
			I was wrong, I say

        in the eyes of my husband
		when we realize yet again
			how much we need Grace

	with a simple apology
		and a humble heart
			and the knowledge that I’m not perfect

I offer it
	to the ones I love
		who are also in process
			and who put up with me day after day

	with a smile
		a cozy hug
			stroking hair off a forehead

	without condition
		because who am I to withhold
			what has been given to me at great cost?


I chase it
	by initiating tea with a neighbor
		playing after school with friends
			taking an evening walk to the park

	letting the tears fall in conversation
		not hiding the true emotion
			or holding back on speaking what is real and honest

	by reading words written 
		from mothers and friends and other women
			who remind me that the mundane matters

I hope for it
	in our world
		where so much feels broken
			and not as it should be

	for my boys and their lives
		to cover their hearts as they grow
			no matter what comes their way

	for my own heart
		the real, lasting kind 
			ever lifting my eyes

Photo by Joshua Reddekopp on Unsplash

This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Peace."