What do you do when it’s three o’clock in the morning and you need medicine? If you live in a small town like ours, you can’t make a quick run to the 24-hour store around the corner. Luckily for me, I live a block away from my parents. And my mom has a mini-Walmart in her pantry—medicine, food, drinks—a person could live off of those supplies for months. Also luckily for me, my mom gets up at three o’clock in the morning. So a few weeks ago, when I was up working at that time, I texted her that I desperately needed Tums. Except my phone auto-corrected that text so it said, “I’m desperately in need of guns. Do you have any?”
As soon as I sent the text, I saw the mistake and wrote, “TUMS, not guns!” My mom responded, “Whew!” (relieved, I guess, that I wasn’t pleading for weapons.) Then she texted, “Tums, not guns. Sounds like a limerick.“ So I wrote her one:
There once was a girl needing Tums
who instead asked her mother for guns.
The idea made her think—
maybe there could be world peace:
If there were Tums, not guns for everyone.
This is by no means great poetry. It’s not even a good limerick. But it did make me think. At this time of year, people seem to express a desire for world peace more than at other times. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem about this desire for peace. The poem was eventually set to music; it became “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” He wrote it on Christmas Day in 1863, his heart breaking for the state of his country during the height of the Civil War. In the second to last stanza, he wrote:
And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
I know just how Longfellow felt when he wrote that. I look at our world and I, too, feel despair at the state of it. Our country is divided. Hate seems stronger than ever. Today, I read about a nine-year-old girl who committed suicide because she’d been tormented by bullies at her school. Where is the peace we say we long for?
Longfellow addressed this in the last stanza of his poem. He went from despair to hope as he wrote:
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!”
I believe in Longfellow’s words with every fiber of my being. If I didn’t, I would have no hope for peace anywhere. But there is hope because God is in control. And He will prevail. Yet I still struggle with how—how will there ever be peace on earth? The concept is almost too big to grasp. And the pathways to peace seem impassable at best. But I believe there are two pathways to peace that, while not easy, are definitely possible—Tums and guns.
Tums. It’s impossible to be at peace with anyone else if you’re not at peace with yourself. And if you’re hurting because of a lack of peace, you’re likely to hurt someone else. So take your Tums—find the medicine that will heal your soul and take it. You may need counseling to deal with childhood trauma. You may need to spend some time every day to reflect and pray and journal about your feelings. Healing old or ongoing wounds can be a long, intensive process, but you’ll never regret the time you spent working on it. Investing that time in yourself affirms that you’re worthy of healing. And your interactions with the people in your life will be transformed when you come from a place of healing, not hurt.
If you have people in your life that hurt you, try to find compassion for them. It may be a cliché to say that hurt people hurt people—but it’s true. Someone who’s miserable, sad, and wounded might not even know how to relate to you without reacting from old hurts. Pray for them. Love them. Show them kindness and grace even though they may throw it back in your face because they don’t know how to accept it. You’ll still be at peace knowing you’ve loved the way God asks you to.
Guns. Peace is unattainable if you’re always on the defensive, ready to argue and fight at the slightest perceived hurt. You may feel sometimes like the whole world is out to get you. But if you take a moment to breathe before you react, you might just discover that the hurt you experienced wasn’t intentional. That the person who hurt you is responding to you because of their issues, not yours. That it’s not personal. And that it’s an enormous relief to lay down your weapons and simply accept love and kindness.
You also won’t find peace if you’re on the offense. If you’re looking for a fight, you’ll find one. If you think someone will hurt or disappoint you, they will. It’s normal to want to avoid that. It’s normal to want to hit first and hit hardest—to get them before they get you. It’s also exhausting and miserable and will continually leave you lonely and sad. Put down your guns, whatever they are. Be careful with your words. Pay attention to how you treat people. And be willing to overlook and forgive the offenses of others. It’s hard, but it’s worth it. Peace is always worth it.
I’m not so naïve that I think world peace will happen overnight. But I absolutely do believe that if we can heal our own wounds and put down the weapons we use to hurt people, we can attain peace within our families. Our friends. And in our spheres of influence. Imagine the view from heaven—if we all brought the light of peace into our circles, there would be little snow globes of light all over this earth. And over time, those snow globes of light would merge together as our circles widen–as others catch the vision of peace and light. Peace in my little corner of the world can happen. And so can peace in your corner. As Longfellow wrote, “A voice, a chime, a chant sublime: of peace on earth, good-will to men!” With all my heart, that is my prayer for peace.
“A world where pain and sorrow will be ended
And every heart that’s broken will be mended
And we’ll remember we are all God’s children
Reaching out to touch You, reaching to the sky.”
From “The Prayer,” by David Foster, et. al.
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Comments 8
Tums instead of guns, maybe just a thought if we were all at peace with ourselves and are fellow human beings, there would be a lot less acid reflex and we might not need Tums either. Carrying a grudge drains your energy, fighting physicality and orally also takes energy and is usually not worth the time. But we all have our little world we think we must defend, so not worth the fight. All the divisions in the country now all about power, I really believe there will be a big event good or bad that will happen that will bring the bring the country together! Like Jesus said “a house divided can not stand”. Like the poet said God does not slumber, he is watching and as all Christians believe there will be a day when there will be peace on earth, the statement is not just words, the statement is God’s promise, and like they say “you can take that to the bank”.
Like you say we can all try to live kind lives and lives that care for all these we come in contact with; it is God’s law “LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF” so easy to write and so easy to say but oh so hard to do, but we would have a good start for peace.
Tums for guns and awesome thought, so enjoyed this post, loved the music and enjoy your quotes.
Love,
Grover
Grover–I always look forward to your comments because you have such interesting insights. You took my Tums metaphor even further, with the idea that heartburn often comes because of inner struggles and disturbances. And if we can calm those down, we wouldn’t need Tums or guns. I love that. I completely agree with you that so much of the upheaval in our world is about power–too much of it, a lack of it, or a desire for it. But what a comfort to KNOW with absolute certainty that there will be peace on earth–a promise straight from the Prince of Peace himself. Thank you so much for your thoughtful reading of my words–it means a great deal to me. And I’m glad you liked the music.
I believe I was in high school when I heard the last two stanzas of “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”. Jesus had been in my life a short time at that point, and it was wonderful to hear the truths contained in that song, to be a little more affirmed in God’s sovereignty. He, too, wants peace, even more than we do because He is unified in His being as none of us are. Your snow globe of light picture was lovely, and made me think of the older song, “Shine In the Corner Where You Are”. (We used to sing it sometimes when I was a kid.) Shine on! Your light does shine, Renee.
Heather–Yes, exactly–the reason I love that last stanza is the affirmation of God’s sovereignty in the face of darkness and war. He is the Prince of Peace–always–and there is great comfort in that. Thank you for your comment and for saying my light shines. That’s my prayer.
Good morning Sparrow. Catchy title, “Tums not guns.” Everybody has an opinion, these days. Some of us, voice it loudly, some get angry and confrontational, with fists, foul and demeaning words, with violent acts. I find asI get older, I listen a lot more than when I was younger. I feel at the season of Christmas,we ficus on Jesus,his birth in The Manger, the Gloriousrealityof Baby Jesus. I won’t get on a lecture,no I have realized in the last few years, triggeredbymybMkm’s pasing, That Jesus should betheficusof my daily thoughts. Yes, some days, I slip, but I try to “right personal ship”, as soon as I rkizeI have”veered”off course. I like many, tend to “talk the talk”, but I havetorememberto “walk the walk”. It is a tragedy that this 9 year old girl , bullied,took her own life. God Rest her soul. But, sadly there are other instances. I don’t know exactly where tis country I headed, I hope, we ,as a nation can “figure it out”, kindness, compassion, there s nothing wrong with that. I hope I am An “example” of doing good in my fellow man’s lives.I am glad I am no longer a “Christmas Christian”. It is a daily challenge to “walk the walk”, but I am determined. In closing, It would serve us well, to Listen to the “truths of Jesus Christ. “. Another “splendid, thought provoking blog,Sparrow. Yes,it would be wonderful to ubstiyute Tums for Guns…TexGen
TexGen–I love what you said about listening more. That’s a great way to bridge the gap between people–listening and coming to an understanding brings peace. I also like the idea of righting your ship the minute you realize you have steered off course; too often, I wait and cause more trouble for myself than necessary. You are definitely an example of the kind of compassion and kindness that brings peace. Thank you for your thoughts.
Great post as always, Renee! It is what I needed to hear. It’s extremely hard to try and love and pray for the particular person I have in mind, but I will try. Reluctantly. Dragging my feet. kicking and screaming. But, you are right, and I want to have peace knowing I loved the way God asks me to. Love you!
Monty–I have never known you to have trouble loving anyone. And no one has trouble loving you. I sure don’t. Thank you for your comment–and thank you for loving ME the way God asked you to.