January: Peace

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

At the encouragement of an amazing friend, I decided to take lightheartedness (my word of the year) to prayer and ask God how he wanted me to approach this goal in a more manageable, measurable way. We came up with words that would build up into lightheartedness: peace, obedience, trust, silence, rest, detachment, wisdom, rhythm, etc. At the beginning of each month of this year, I want to choose one virtue from this list (or any others that come up) to focus on intentionally. January's word: Peace.


I kicked off the year at the SLS Conference, put on by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. There was truly no better way to start the year than being surrounded by 10,000+ young people on fire for Christ - and the perpetual adoration wasn't too bad either. I think I spent 10 hours or more just sitting on the floor of the adoration chapel, in a place where I find the most peace. It. Was. Glorious.

But packing up and traveling from Arizona to California and then home to DC was a jolt. Going back to work, especially as our team hit the ground running through a flurry of projects and deadlines was like walking into a hurricane. Settling back into routine and trying to prioritize rest and friends and health and work and relationships felt like juggling a million things at once. I felt tired, and overwhelmed, and not exactly bathed in peace - which is why choosing this word felt less like a suggestion and more like a flashing neon sign in front of my face.

In my pursuit of peace, the first thing I did was to filter out all the noise. I was on a full podcast binge, and it was a rare moment when voices were not blasting through my headphones. I was constantly receiving inputs. Silence did not exist, and honestly, I didn't really want it. Silence meant facing everything that I had to do and that did not seem fun, so I opted into noise. By making the choice to seek out silence, I was able to actually process the thoughts in my head. Why was I tired? What was causing me stress? How could I better support that friend? How could I be more present in my job? Those questions, reflected upon in silence, gave me the peace that I was evading through blocking out silence.

I also took on a social media fast at the beginning of January. It was a grace to just delete the apps and step back. It also made me realize how quick I am to grab for my phone when I'm bored or have time to kill. Ultimately, I'm back on social media now because I love keeping up with friends and sending posts back and forth. But the break allowed me to stop and consider the ways in which I use social media and how I could be a bit more intentional about it.

When I'm trying to figure something out, I love to read about it. The books I listed below have been great gateways into finding peace, especially when prayer doesn't feel so peaceful. I especially recommend God's Voice Within - a masterpiece on receiving the promptings of the Holy Spirit and being open and active in the discernment process.

Now that we're at the end of January, I feel a bit more confident in my ability to seek out peace. I was reminded of how important it is to sit in silence. I recognized how being present and giving my best to what is right in front of me is a great way to find peace in the ordinary tasks and activities of day-to-day life.  


Now, onto February - where I'm not too excited about "obedience," but open and willing to see where it takes me!

Pursuing Peace

What to Read:

• Searching for and Maintaining Peace by Jacques Philippe

• God's Voice Within by Mark E. Thibodeaux

• Unshakeable by Christine Caine

What to Hear:

• Fr. Mike Schmitz - Underestimated: Silence is Not Absence Podcast

• Finding Peace - Podcast

What to Watch:

• Cheer on Netflix (sometimes six hours of drama and cheerleading is all you need to create a little peace)

• Modern Love: When the Doorman is Your Main Man on Amazon (a heartwarming, beautiful 32 minutes of television)

• Little Women, Greta Gerwig's adaptation - saw this twice in January and will gladly see a million more times. 15/10 recommend

What to Pray:

• The Surrender Novena

• Litany of Trust

What to Do:

• Social Media Fast

• Noise fast (sometimes shutting off podcasts and music and just walking or being in silence can be a great reset)

How do you pursue peace? Let me know - I can use all the help I can get! And if you've got ideas about obedience, I'm all ears :) 

Jane