Following Shalom

by Ashleigh Beason

Shalom, a word that has had so much meaning to my life. A flourishing wholeness, peace, but not just any peace, a God peace. Something we all long for. A word that I have had a hard time grasping in this season.

If you know me at all you know vulnerability is difficult for me. With a counselor mindset everything always has to be okay…always….but this past season has been a difficult one. A lot of new transitions come with a variety of new fears. In asking a friend for advice, she said, “Ash, the only thing I know to tell you to do at this point is to follow peace…to follow shalom.”

I have had to fight every morning for even an ounce of peace. What I have not been doing is recognizing that peace is everywhere… Peace is something we were created for. It’s how our journey began in the Garden of Eden and it’s how our journey will end in Heaven.

In the meantime, we are all in desperate need of peace. In fact, every behavior choice we make can be analyzed as an attempt to find the peace our heart desires or to numb the pain of failing to find it. We long for something else, something more, an opportunity to find our true home of joy, meaning, and peace. It’s not the addiction, but an Eden experience that people really want.

What is it that brings you peace? What is it that lets you breathe again, that puts you at ease? Take yourself there.

Peace is more than a feeling, it’s more than a place, it’s a person. Peace is a person to abide in and that person is Jesus. Ultimately, the only true peace we can find in this world is the One who IS peace. The only one who can pick up the million different pieces of my life is the creator of PEACE, Jesus. He is standing at the cross offering us PEACE in the midst of a thousand pieces.

That is the only thing that will create that flourishing wholeness, that shalom my heart so longs for. And isn’t it interesting that the word Shalom encompasses both God’s peace and wholeness? This peace, this Jesus is what makes us whole in these pieces that can be life.

In the morning when you wake up there are two chairs you can choose to sit in…one of Fear and one of peace, and whichever one you choose to sit in is the one that will determine how you will live your day. So this morning and every morning I choose peace…I choose the One who IS peace. I choose to follow shalom, to follow Jesus.

“Seek peace and pursue it.” Psalm 34:14

Sometimes the first step to finding peace is talking to someone about the pieces of your life which you can’t seem make fit together. We at Summit Wellness Centers are here to help.

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