If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. – Mother Teresa
Peace.
The Holy Spirit produces a different kind of fruit: unconditional love, joy, peace, patience, kindheartedness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
(Galatians 5:22-23a VOICE)
“I can paint that for you, for sure.” Bri looked up at me from the table at the Launch Out Conference and smiled. She was the only teen at a conference for dreamers and entrepreneurs, quietly transforming brush and tiny canvases into story.
My story was a doorway – the weathered turquoise entryway of a coffee shop called Y Tu Piña Tambien. I’ve only seen it open for business one time in all the years I’ve looked out over the cobblestone street corner in Antigua, Guatemala. That it’s a coffee shop is not what lifts my heart. That it’s one of my favorite colors is not the reason why I now have a library of photos of that doorway. What I love is its invitation.
The doorway beckons.
The doorway includes.
The doorway welcomes.
If that doorway could speak, it would say, “There is peace waiting you for you here.”
And in Bri’s words, I could hear the same. The petite dreamer with brush and canvas was herself a doorway, taking the tender dreams of those around her and bringing them to new life. Her welcome and her confidence set hearts at ease. And her work reminded each dreamer of why they dreamt in the first place.
Peace awaits you, love. And peace is in you, waiting to open to a dreamer who aches for its quiet invitation. We get to walk through the threshold – and we get to be the doorway. That is Advent. We are invited in, and we get to extend the invitation. There is peace waiting for us here.
My knees begging for serenity
And when it’s all a blur, you are the hard line
In the disorder, you are the peace sign
(Peace Sign, Lights featuring Coeur de Pirate)
Enjoy the playlist. There are songs of hope, love, peace, joy, and light here for you. Yes, Advent comes in unexpected ways.
A most peaceful giveaway.
This week, the week of Advent’s peace, I’d love for you to have a memory of the invitation in your home. So, I want Bri to paint a picture of a little dream of yours. Subscribe to my blog, and you’re automatically entered to receive a miniature Briana original. I’ll work with you and her to get it painted and shipped your way. No purchase necessary, void where prohibited, no macabre or inappropriate things please. Remember, it’s Advent – we’re focusing on hope, love, peace, joy, and light. And if you’d like to contact Bri about commissioned work, you may follow her on Instagram at artful_earth or contact her at [email protected]. Only folks who subscribe from December 15, 2017, through January 6, 2018, are eligible. Winner will be contacted by email and/or phone.
If you’ve just stumbled upon this Advent devotional, there are two more waiting for you: Hope and Love. Both tell the story of the season, and both aren’t what you’re expecting. Should you need someone to talk to or pray with right now, I’m here for you. We’re in this together, you know.
Make Advent a tradition in your home. Purchase a copy of “for you love: the advent collection.” Thoughtful words along with beautiful images and illustrations (and its own playlist inspired by hymns of old) are available in paperback or Kindle now on Amazon. And “for you love,” the prayer journal that invites you to respond, is on sale for a limited time only at WordPainters!