Like the beauty pageant contestants of yesteryear, I dream of world peace.  I read my Bible and I think if the wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the goat, and the lion and calf can all dwell together, then surely we as people, ought to do the same.  But then I watch the news and I wonder if it is possible for humankind to walk alongside each other in harmony.

I see two countries trading barbs and bombs and wonder if peace is even an achievable goal.  I see a country so politically polarized that polite conversation is barely possible amongst leaders of the differing factions.  I weep as brother picks up arms against brother.  My spirit grieves the lives of those caught in the cross hairs, and those just caught in the crossfire.

I wish we could say that this recent turn of events was unexpected and unprecedented, but the stories of war are literally what our histories are built upon.  And until history has come to an end, it appears war will always be a reality.  The book of James suggests that wars aren’t started with acts of aggression against one territory or another, but that wars are internal, that attacks on others are symptomatic of the wars we are fighting within.

Each of us has two natures, the spiritual and the natural,and the two are often at odds.  I see it in myself every day.  I am in a constant battle to keep my higher ideals, to pull my body into submission to the things my heart wants to achieve.  And every day I have wins and losses on both sides.

If you, like me, are fighting a war within, or and especially if you are involved in an outward conflict, I am praying for all of us that peace prevails and endures.

Mama Radford