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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: War and Peace (not about the book) (07/07/11)

TITLE: Peace That Matters
By Jackie Smithwick
07/13/11


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There was a war waging in my heart. There was a war waging in the world. I didn’t know what to do about the war in my heart, because I didn’t understand it. My fellow Americans didn’t know what to do about the war in Vietnam because they didn’t understand it.

There was a cry to end the war from protestors all over our land. There was a cry to end the war in my heart everyday as I struggled to find meaning of life. I tried several times to turn to God, because I believed He was the answer, however I didn’t understand that either.

Walking the isle at church at the age of 12, signing a card and agreeing to be baptized was supposed to satisfy my longing and desire for eternal security, but many years had passed and the war was still waging. It continued with doubt after doubt, and fear after fear. “Where would I end up, or what was going to become of me after I died?” These were the bombs that exploded in my mind daily.

Young men’s lives were being extinguished daily and detailed before our eyes nightly. The war waging miles away from home was baffling to the young folks who grew up in an affluent, mostly peaceful society. These were children of plenty, with hopes for only greater and greater material wealth. Soon they became disenchanted with the idea of material success and became the demonstrators who shouted “make love not war!” while holding up two fingers and adding “peace baby.”

Peace came to our nation after years of pain and turmoil. Determined to do whatever it took, the leaders of our country were able to facilitate an end to the war. Unsettling facts about the Vietnam War still plague our nation, but as time passes, and other struggles rear their heads, the controversy grows dimmer. The Vietnam War is now a sad memory to us who lived it and a short and perhaps confusing chapter in history to those who study it.

Peace came into my heart the night I determined to do whatever necessary to attain it. I stepped into the isle of our church on the last night of revival with a determination to remain there until…...

Like a sweet soft butterfly or maybe a peaceful dove the peace flowed into my being. Words cannot accurately express the relief I experienced with that first step, but it was real and has lasted 40 years.

Memory of the war in my heart reminds me of the immeasurable value of the peace that Jesus gave to me. Although there are unanswered questions that sometimes plague my mind, the peace of eternal security is here to stay.

The war protestors shouting “peace, peace” didn’t know what they were missing. I received an amazing gift, the peace that really mattered. I wanted to tell them, I wanted to tell the world.

For 40 years I’ve been trying to share this truth: Jesus Christ gives sweet peace, You don’t have to work for it, you will never deserve it, only have to receive it. The “peace that passes all understanding” ended the war waging in my heart and can end the war waging in your heart too. (Philippians 4:7)


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Member Comments
Member Date
Hiram Claudio07/17/11
A heartfelt ... Amen! Thank you for sharing this. Such a good connection between a truly troubled time in our nation's history and a troubled time that was more personal. I like the contrast of the "peace, peace" that protesters shout for and the "peace" that Jesus gives. This really blessed me.


   
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