Peace!

This is part of a message I shared some months ago with my visiting teaching sisters. In my church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we are called to serve individual sisters to make sure everyone has someone to turn to when they need it. I already had this all typed up in a letter I sent to my sisters one month and I thought it was worth sharing on here too. --As much for myself as for anyone!

Here is the message from the church - the rest are my thoughts related to it:

Someone shared this list with me and it came to my mind when I was putting together this message. --I'm often a worrier - always planning for the worst case scenario and stressing when I should be enjoying the moment. When I read this list I thought it sounded wonderful! Wouldn't it be great to live life with that attitude of peace?

12 Symptoms of Inner Peace

1. An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.

2. An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.

3. A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.

4. A loss of interest in judging other people.

5. A loss of interest in judging self.

6. A loss of interest in conflict.

7. A loss of the ability to worry.

8. Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

9. Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.

10. Frequent bouts of smiling.

11. A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.

12. An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

Jesus Christ is The Prince of Peace! He is our ultimate example. He lived a perfect life - though that didn't bar Him from hardship and pain. He suffered more than anyone on earth, as much as all of us ever have! He chose to - for us! He always chose the right path, the path that leads to eternal happiness. He has peace and happiness because of the kind of person He is and it can never be taken away from Him. Sometimes it's hard for us to tell what the right choice is, and for us to have agency Heavenly Father can't command us about every little thing. It wouldn't make sense to. We aren't all meant to end up exactly the same. We weren't created to be robots, diversity is beautiful and makes life interesting! Heavenly Father doesn't want us to be exactly the same, but he does want us to end up in the same place, with Him, clean, and compatible with one another so that we'll be happy living there together. We can become that way not by following some gigantic complex textbook with all decisions for all circumstances laid out for us, --but by following the commandments, and the example set for us, serving others as the Savior did, trying to be humble and teachable and pattern our lives after His. We can learn more about Him through reading our scriptures, prayer, and trying to follow His ways, serving others more than ourselves. That is the way we will obtain true happiness and inner peace!