I think of my youth pastor every year at Christmas. One year, he gave us a Christmas Eve assignment that I remember vividly. He told us to find some time on Christmas Eve to go outside, stay there for a minute, and just listen. He believed that the world slowed down just a little bit on Christmas Eve. The literal and figurative traffic was a little lighter or slower, and calm replaced the busy. He thought we would be able to feel the peace. Every single year on Christmas Eve, I go outside and hang out for a few minutes by myself. I’ve probably done it every Christmas since he first told us. The part of me that craves that peace in life wants him to be right, but I’ve concluded that other than fewer cars on the street nearby, I don't always feel it. I connect more with Bono who wrote in the U2 song Peace on Earth: Peace on Earth Hear it every Christmas time But hope and history won't rhyme So what’s it worth? The fact that there is no peace is not a surprise to any of us who are paying attention at all. This world is broken, we are broken, and that brokenness is evident
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