Romans 12:18  If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (CSB)

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Peace is an opt-in state of being. The lack of peace is often directly attributable to our own choices. When we desire command and control and push to achieve our preferred outcomes as if everything is a competition, peace is pretty well impossible. 

Peace is also less likely when your computer omits random letters as you type. For example, my reasonably new desktop machine upstairs skips the letter S from time to time. This is not a good letter to forget since it shows up in so many words. 

This same computer decided this morning to send the cursor rambling across the page without input from the guy with his fingers on the keys. There is no time to work on this issue now, so I am typing away on my lightweight workhorse with the smaller screen and more reliable keyboard. 

You see, peace is possible. Of course, as you might imagine, I am inwardly trying to determine my next steps in repairing my desktop so that I am not unnecessarily delayed or diverted in the future. Peace is evident in the fact that I neither punched the offending computer in its oversized screen nor set it out with the trash. 

It is Monday, and even computers have difficulty getting going on Mondays. Fog delays the morning light today. A winter-weight cold has settled into my head and lungs. It is as if this same state of being has somehow infected my dutiful electronic assistant. This brings to mind one of my least favorite sayings: “It is what it is.”

A quote from J. C. Ryle popped up this morning and helps provide necessary perspective: “Stress comes from trying to do it all on your own. Peace comes from putting it all in God’s hands.”

I will deal with the computer later. It’s time to prepare for a day full of adventure. There are smiles and laughter ahead. There are meaningful work, dear relationships, and successes to celebrate. 

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I will choose peace despite the complications of this day. 

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Our Father, thank you for another day and another week to live and work with wonderful people doing meaningful work. Thank you for the silence of the early-morning fog and the late-arriving sun. Thank you for the colors of autumn and the approach of Christmas. Bless the work of our hands today. Make us a blessing all along the way. Amen.