Yesterday, we went to the pawn shop to reclaim the wedding bands that I gave my wife on our wedding day. The center band with the stone was gone, but the two plain gold bands that were custom-fit to it were what we found. I had to buy back something that was stolen from me - is that entirely fair?

The tandem that broke into my home has been identified, and they are in jail right now. We have been informed that we probably shouldn't look for several of the articles that were taken, and I have been angry about that. Thinking about the season of Christmas has changed my heart and softened my anger towards them. The poignant purpose for my change in heart is that the pair is a father-son duo. I look at my sons, and I am grateful that our relationship will not travel the same path that converged with ours on October 26th at 9 p.m. I am saddened that a father and son relationship is developed by breaking into homes and stealing from innocent people.

Is there joy when that father looks into the eyes of his son? Does the heart of that dad swell with love when he sees his son walk into the room? What holds their relationship together in the midst of the chaos that their relationship is forged in? Who will show them peace?

Peace

I have peace because I know Jesus. He makes me uncomfortable at times, but that is when I am learning something extremely valuable. I have to see those times through the same eyes of love that Christ sees me through. I have to trust in Him, even though I cannot touch His skin or hear His footsteps. If I didn't have this peace, every step and every thought would be infinitely more difficult. My daily activities would be labored over with intense struggle, and any little bump in the road would seek to overturn my wagon. Having Christ in my heart does not give me a free pass through life - it give me a promise of eternal bliss. When I need that peace to overwhelm the events that try to overwhelm me, I think about my salvation.

Comfort

Comfort is a relative term. Sciatica and disc problems have placed me in a torture chamber since Thanksgiving day. Despite the long sequences of intense pain, I can find positions where I am comfortable. Once I find these positions, I cease all movement and thought. The problem with this is that I will have to move again at some point in time. I will have to get up from the bed and start my day. I will have to move to keep living, and the pain will smack me in the face again. This makes me realize that what I am experiencing is comfort, and not peace. I enjoy comfort, but I ravenously crave peace.

Comfort pauses those things that peace resolves. Where do you find your peace?