Read: John 14:25-27 “I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.
My 97-year old mother lay in the hospice bed, resting quietly. She was scheduled to have a medical procedure, and I was filled with anxiety.
I tend to be a worrier, and my anxieties turned to questions about the day ahead. Would my mother be in more pain or become more disabled?
Would she have a stroke? If she died today, what was heaven like, and who would be there? I found myself praying, “What happens next, Lord?”
“My peace I give to you.” The room took on a new dimension, as I felt a warm, calming presence joining my brother and me at the bedside. Now amid the silence, I knew the Prince of Peace was there with us, easing my worries and stilling my racing mind.
My mother died, one difficult week later. Yet I will never forget the feeling of serenity when Jesus joined us, filling me with his love and peace.
Though I miss my mother, I am comforted in knowing she is in heaven,
worshipping the Lord alongside so many of our departed loved ones.
As we watch and wait for the coming of the Christ child in this Advent season, let us invite the Prince of Peace into our lives, allowing him to take our fears away and quiet our troubled hearts.
Prayer: Dear Lord, when we are anxious and afraid, remind us that we need only call upon your name, and you will bring us your peace. Amen.[Robert Brooks, Fredericksburg, VA]
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3383 Sweet Hollow Rd.
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More information about the Society of St. Andrew and its hunger-relief programs - Gleaning Network, Potato & Produce Project, Harvest of Hope and Hunger Relief Advocate Initiative - is available online at EndHunger.org.
Feed your spiritual hunger during the weeks leading up to Christmas with these daily devotions from Society of St. Andrew, offering scripture readings, meditations, and prayers focusing on the coming birth of Jesus, the “Prince of Peace.”
And as you feed your spiritual hunger, we invite you to give generously to feed the physical hunger of nearly 50 million low-income Americans through the gleaning and food distribution ministries of Society of St. Andrew.
Through your faithful giving, as you are fed, so will our hungry brothers and sisters be fed. Every dollar you share will put 50 servings of healthy, nourishing food on their plates this winter.
May God’s light shine brightly through you in this holy season.
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