"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3

Did you hear the story of two artists who were asked to paint a pic­ture illustrating peace? Here's how it goes: "The first painted a beautiful scene at dusk. In the foreground was a lake, its surface calm; meadows stretched away into the distance with cattle gently grazing; a little cot­tage, the setting sun - all spoke of tranquility.

The second artist painted a wild stormy scene: heavy clouds hung overhead; in the center of the picture was an immense waterfall, thunder­ously gushing over a cliff. But the artist included in his portrait a small bird - perched in a cleft of a great rock, sheltered from all around, and singing its sweet song of joy. Like the tiny bird, we can experience per­fect peace in the storms of life, when we abide in the shelter of His arms."

But there is a catch to receiving and maintaining such perfect peace of heart and mind. The Amplified Bible clarifies "whose mind is stayed on thee:" "...whose mind (both its inclination and its character) is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You and hopes con­fidently in You." That spells an intimate relationship where the weak ones (you and I) truly believe that we are under moment by moment supervision and protection of the strong One - Christ Himself. Such child-like trust opens the door to perfect inner peace, no matter what storms rage about us.

Each day offer up to the Father your heart and mind as gifts to Him alone. Learn to converse with Him moment by moment one day at a time. If we live in His presence, His perfect peace will live in us.

My prayer: "I long to experience that perfect peace that awaits those whose minds and hearts are captured by You, my precious Lord. Make me a prisoner of Your love."

"Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (I Corinthians 11:1)
The ST. PAUL SCHOOL, with Frank Eiklor, Eileen Young and Cecilia Contreras