There isn’t much about my life that is quiet. Jude’s favorite band is Kiss so many mornings the first sound I hear is, “Hey Siri, play Rock and Roll All Night!” To add to the fun, Caleb has started drum lessons so I actually have to force him to make more noise in our house. At work I have 18 energetic students who love music, dancing, and singing. My days are filled with laughter, yelling, and blocks crashing. I often think, “If only I could get some quiet, I could get some peace.”
The peace that comes from quiet and calm is, without a doubt, valuable. When you look at the paintings of Jesus in a manger, Jesus is sleeping, Mary looks down at him, and stars shine in a dark sky. These images seem to embody peace.
Then I think back to my own first hours of motherhood; Caleb was wailing, visitors were coming by to greet our precious new family member, not to mention the hustle and bustle of a hospital, and yet there was peace. The peace of a long labor completed, a long awaited child that is now part of your family, the peace of new love that shakes you to your core. When I take a second to think about the peaceful pictures of Jesus in the manger, it really probably wasn’t as peaceful as we have imagined it. We would hear the chatter of the women who came to help Mary, an infant Jesus crying to be held, livestock making their presence known. The Prince of Peace was ushered into this world like all humans, with screaming, crying, chatter, and laughter. May you find peace in the quiet of this season but also in the loud and rambunctious life we often find ourselves in.
Sarah Gamble
