World Peace vs. Inner Peace

Since the beginning of The Miss Universe Pageants started  in 1921 the question has been asked to many beautiful woman around the world "If you were granted one wish what would you wish for?"
ANSWER: "World Peace"
For some reason this phrase makes me laugh, how wonderful it would be to have "world peace" can you  imagine a life of no opposition, no worry of a husband, father or parent not coming home tonight because of an act of terror, never thinking that  going to a movie theater could possibly be the last breath you take, the freedom of knowing when you send your little ones to school they will come home to you safe and sound never imagining they may be hiding under a desk while a crazy gunman shoots down their friends? The televised sight of 300 children being killed in Syria, has brought me to the thoughts of what is the difference between world peace vs. inner peace.

The truth is, the adversary would not survive in a world of peace, and we would not grow and learn to become reliant.  I do not personally believe there will ever be a time of World Peace while we are on the earth. Not to be a downer or anything, but there is a plan in place and unfortunetley Satan never wins, so with that being said the world leaders will continue to be on opposite sides of the table, there is always going to be opposition in all we do.

Knowing all in the world that is going on outside of the walls of our home, can be overwhelming as we listen to world news.  However, I believe with all of my heart there is a difference between, inner peace we get from knowing who we are, where we came from, and where we are going, and this to me is much more important than world peace.  This may sound strange to some, but to me it makes perfect sense, I have no control over world peace, except to be a more kind and gentle person, be honest in all I do and share the knowledge of Jesus Christ love for all of his children with others.

Inner peace comes from knowing we are doing the best we can to live a more Christ like life.  How do we as women get this inner peace on a daily basis with so much going on around us?  This is an ongoing process, I have learned over the years this inner peace has to be constantly worked on.  We all are in different season in our lives, I can say as I raised small children it was difficult to find inner peace as I tried to balance motherhood,  cleaning my home, daily balanced meals on the table, scripture study, Family Home Evenings, Temple attendance and attending weekly Sunday meetings, I also have always held callings in our church, from teaching Primary Children, teaching in the nursery, young women and Relief Society. As I look back now on those years I realize there was so much more I could of done to have inner peace, I could of cut back on activities within our family that could of given me the extra time to spend studying the life of our Savior trying harder to be more like him.  Now, all of my children are married and moving forward with their own children and families.  I sometimes feel inadequate and wish I had done some things differently, when those thoughts come into my mind, I quickly realize it is Satan who is trying to convince me of my failures.

Some of the ways I try to obtain inner peace in my life is to not allow myself to enjoy the things I like to do, until I have done the things I need to do.  Those things are not always the easiest to do, reading and studying my scriptures 30 minutes each day, for me sometimes it is sitting down and actually reading, on someday's it is listening to conference talks,  I do not ever get in my car without listening to church hymns or conference talks, these are the physical things I can do to find my daily inner peace. Weekly Temple attendance is such a great way to feel the inner peace needed to help me through a week.  I also take time to enjoy what the Lord has given us, instead of focusing on what I cannot do I try and focus on the things I do have control over and the things I can do.  I love the song from our Primary Children's Song book, "My Heavenly Father Loves Me"  the words to this song will forever hold a special place in my heart, I learned it when I was a child.  Whenever I can I try to take a moment each day to see the beauty the Lord has given us in the world.

Whenever I hear the song of a bird,
or look at the blue, blue sky
Whenever I feel the rain on my face
or the wind as it rushes by
Whenever I touch a velvet rose or
walk by a a lilac tree
I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world
Heavenly Father Created for me.
He gave me my eyes that I might see
the color of butterfly wings
He gave me my ears that I might hear
the magical sound of things.
He gave me my life, my mind, my heart,
I thank him reverently
For all his creations of which I'm a part,
Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me.

I think the last line of this song say's it all for me, Yes, I know my Heavenly Father loves me.  Not only because of all the beautiful things in the world he has created for me to enjoy, but because I have learned on my own, inner peace comes from being obedient to the Lords commandments, it comes from getting on your knees daily and thanking him for all the blessing I have in my life.  I am still living today because the Lord has a purpose for me, I am a stubborn person and I have not quite learned what that is, but I will continue to repent daily for my shortcomings, and ask HIM to help me become more like HIS son, to give acts of kindness everyday, and try to implement all the attributes of Christ in my life--this is where my inner peace comes from.