December 7, 2004

[Rev. Doc]

The Manger Of Peace In Your Heart

"and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."
Luke 2:7

Rose Kennedy, the mother of the late President, once attended a Bible Study and she shared how she came to peace with God after being resentful of Him for giving her a retarded daughter.
"I was boiling over with resentment. There was a lovely woman who was one of our maids. She sensed my boiling soul.

'Please excuse me, Mrs. Kennedy; but I've been watching you the last few weeks. I love you very much, and I hate to see this destroy your life. I say this as gently as I know how: Mrs. Kennedy, you'll never be happy until you make your heart a manger where the Christ child may be born.' "I fired her on the spot! You have no idea how filled with anger, how isolated, how focused on doubt I became..

"That night, my mind ruminated relentlessly, keeping me awake until the late hours. I could not forget that lovely face, the sweetness of her countenance, the sub-surface joy that seemed to boil up continually in her spirit. and especially those deathless words: 'Mrs. Kennedy, you'll never be happy until you make your heart a manger where the Christ may be born.' "I have loved Christ all my life, and tried to be a good Catholic girl all my years; but this was one of those joyous moments of real contact with God and his Son. So I knelt beside my bed and prayed, 'Dear God, make my heart a manger where the Christ child may be born.' I felt a fresh new divine entry into my life, and there was born in me a passion, a love for retarded children. Oh, by the way, I rehired the lovely maid. She was with us for years, until her death."

The Lord will allow many different circumstances to come into our lives. Each one of them will be an opportunity to experience the peace that only Christ can give.

Prayer: Thank God for the circumstances He has placed you in, and ask Him to supply peace in the midst of them.

"Peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but is rather the confidence that He is there with you always."
~Annonymous