Peace

Good afternoon, everyone. It's good to be with all of you here in North Kent. It's been some time since Debbie and I were here with our family gone. We don't get back up here quite as often as we used to, but it is a special occasion as we know, and it's good to see so many of you that have come in from so many different areas and to fill the room up here again for the Simcoviac family and everyone here. So, welcome. Good to see all of you.

Shortly after the conclusion of the Vietnam War, an American Art Museum commissioned a contest and invited artists to submit a painting that symbolized the word peace, the concept of peace. They thought it was an appropriate time after the conclusion of that long and divisive war to have something that would illustrate that concept of peace.

And so, in came the submissions. And of course, the typical submissions that you would expect trying to illustrate peace, a calm, beautiful pastoral scene, maybe with wheat in the shocks and kind of a fall scene representing peace. There were majestic mountains, snow-capped mountains, something like you might see out in the Rockies or up in the Canadian Rockies, and towering peaks like that with maybe a glacier-fed pool of water at the base, and valleys with mountains on either side and a river flowing through it.

And all of those were submitted to illustrate peace. But those were not the winners. The winner, the winning submission for peace was a little different. It was kind of a dark scene. And there were dark clouds. And it was obvious that there was a storm going because there was one lone tree that was planted right in the center of the picture, and the wind was whipping through in the branches of this tree.

And your eyes were drawn right to that tree on this dark, stormy scene. And there the artist on one limb, very clear to see, was a nest with a mother bird nestled in her wings, covering her young. And that one, one name, one title was under the picture, peace. That was it. Now, you're already ahead of me because you're thinking about a particular psalm, aren't you? So let's turn to it, Psalm 84. And look at that particular image as it is portrayed here in Psalm 84. We sing this, one of our hymns. How lovely is your tabernacle, beginning in verse 1.

O Lord of hosts, my so longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and a swallow, a nest for herself, where she may lay her young. Even your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, they will still be praising you. A bird has found a place to build her home, to build a nest, and to lay her young.

What an example and a setting for peace. Obviously, whoever painted that winning submission knew this particular psalm and illustrated it quite well. Life sometimes presents us with storms that rage around us, and it is even possible to find that peace that we need within that storm. We know that peace is one of the fruits of God's spirit. In Galatians 5 and verse 22, peace is listed as the third of the listings of the fruits of God's Holy Spirit after love and joy.

Then comes peace, and of course, several others after that. Some months back, I began a series with the frequency that I speak at the office congregation in Cincinnati. I decided to just give a series, and the fruits of the Spirit seemed pretty good to go through and I had come to this one on peace just recently and gave that. I thought it would fit here today as we gathered here.

Peace is a fruit of God's spirit. It's interesting you look at it as it comes after love and joy. One of the insights that we've had, and at least I've had, and I'm sure many of you as well, is that it begins with love, the fruit of the fruits of the Spirit. That kind of undergirds everything.

We know what Corinthians says about love. That then leads to joy, the love of God, the love of a relationship with God leads to joy. The two of those together actually build and help us to enjoy and to have the sense of peace that is a peace that comes from God's Spirit. It is a little different than perhaps we might conceive. We think of peace normally as everything going well, everything quiet, everything calm, money in the bank, no upset in the family, everybody's happy, everybody's getting along, good job, harmony in the office, harmony in the family, harmony in the church and all.

We certainly want peace, and we want to pursue that peace at all times. The word peace comes from a Greek word, irene, e-i-r-e-n-e. I didn't think it or make the connection until I kind of looked it up. This is the only Greek word that I have today, so don't worry that we're going to have a lot of Greek words. Irenae means a state of tranquility or security or safety or prosperity. You know, people would find people, that was a very common name, irene. You've probably known somebody named irene in the past. I did growing up, but you don't hear that name too often, but irene comes from irene, the Greek word, and it means peace.

We're going to taking a group on a tour of Turkey here in just four weeks, and when we, our last stop will be in the city of Istanbul, and one of our visits in Istanbul will be to the church of irene, which is the church of peace, the church of holy peace as it was first conceived. We'll have some interesting stories to tell about that particular church named after the concept of peace. But it is a fruit of God's spirit. And I'd like to look at three episodes today that can help us kind of understand this and the depths of it and begin to shape some thoughts around it to understand it from a little deeper perspective and perhaps a little different than we normally do.

But off of that concept of that bird nested in the midst of a storm in a tree at peace, secure with her young. There's a story from the gospels I'd like for us to turn to in Mark 4. Mark the fourth chapter. It's one of those scenes of Christ with His disciples on the Sea of Galilee. And it begins in verse 35, Mark 4. On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, Let us cross over to the other side.

Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. This would have been on the northern shore of the Lake of Galilee and the idea of crossing over to the other side we might think means to go from one side of the lake to the other. What it really means is they crossed over the Jordan River that empties into the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and they crossed beyond that mouth of the river at that point. That's what it means to go to the other side.

But they were in that part of the Sea of Galilee for those of you that may have been on that sea and seen it. They left the multitude. They took Him along Christ in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. So there was a small flotilla that were going along. And a great windstorm arose and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling. On the Sea of Galilee, windstorms like this described here in the Gospels can come up very, very quickly because the wind comes in from the west.

It comes off the Mediterranean and it goes down through the Valley of Jezreel over Megiddo and down the Valley of Jezreel. And when it gets to the area of the sea, the Sea of Galilee is below that level and it drops off. And so it's picking up velocity as it moves through this valley. And then it picks up even more as it drops off into and onto the Sea of Galilee.

And so it can come up very quickly, even to this day, a storm that is described here. And they obviously didn't plan for it. Of course, today you might have been able to have a bit of a warning with all the electronic gadgetry that a boat on a lake like this would take care of. But they didn't have any warning and it came up and the boat was beginning to take on water.

Going on in verse 38, it says, But he was in the stern, Christ was in the stern asleep on a pillow. And they awoke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we're perishing? They turned to him as if he doesn't seem to be too concerned here at this particular point. He did arise, he arose and he rebuked the wind and it calmed down.

And he said to the sea, Peace, peace, be still in the midst of this raging windstorm. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. It would seem almost instantaneously by the account that that is what happened and a dramatic ending to what just a moment before seemed to be catastrophic for all of those who were in the boat there and the other smaller boats probably at the same time.

But Jesus then made a point and he said to them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? Now this is more than just a story of a storm and a wind on a lake. I mean it's almost that you get the point that Jesus knew what was going to happen and he probably if he did he knew their reaction and it becomes a teaching moment here. This is not a story about boating safety. We could probably draw some lessons about that for us today to think about. But he says, Why are you so fearful?

And they feared exceedingly, it says, and said to one another, Who can this be that even the wind and the sea obey him? They're still learning. They are still learning who he is and what he can do. Did they awake him, knowing fully what he would be able to do? They obviously were looking to him when they did arouse him there. But Jesus uses this as a story to help them and as it is recorded for us to achieve peace in the midst of the storms of life that come along.

And if we look very carefully at the wording that Jesus says here, that's easy to say. He said, Jesus knew how to put his faith in his Father and he did. And he commanded and spoke on that authority. If you knew the storm was coming, he wasn't worried. And it could very well be what was intended to be put out as a lesson for the disciples here.

But what he is teaching us is that the external matters that we cannot control that come upon us in life and sometimes very suddenly and unexpectedly must be left to God. We must be able to not be overcome by fear. There's going to be humanly a level and a measure of fear for any of us, I think, when problems take place, when a crisis hits. But it's how we then deal with it. It is the next step, how we master that fear, how we master that uncertainty that the moment brings to us that can be the difference. And it is that fruit of God's Spirit, peace, that we learn through a lifetime of experience, through our relationship with God, through drawing upon the wellspring of his Spirit within us that can allow us to react in the right way. We'll always have a reaction to a crisis, to something that is unexpected, whether it's a large one or a small one. And it is something that is no doubt developed over a lifetime where we learn to realize that our life is in God's hands and things must be left to him.

This type of peace, the peace of God's Spirit, is not the peace that is always there when everything is smooth, when the waters are calm, there's no troubles, there's no wind, the sun is out. And it's kind of just a light, breezy, late spring day. All of that is good, and it's what we desire. We want high 70s, sunshine, balmy skies. We kind of would like that every day, wouldn't we? I guess that's why people go to Florida, looking for that or some other spot that has a bit more moderate temperatures on more consistent basis throughout the year, trying to find that perfect climate, because that's what we want. But then you go to Florida, and you've got what? You've got hurricanes, and you've got alligators and other things that were like that. We were on a church visit a few years ago. We were down in, I think at that point, Tampa or Fort Myers, and we were in a hotel. And I got up early that morning and go out and take a walk, and it was kind of in a shopping complex, and where the developer had built all these retaining lakes that were a part of the complex there. And I'm walking along about 637 in the morning, just enjoying the 75-degree temperature and looking at the calm little water there. And I passed this sign that says, beware of alligators. And at that moment, I realized, I'm not in Ohio anymore. And so I crossed the street to get away from the shore of the retaining pond that I was in, because as we've all heard, alligators live in those places in Florida, and they can come out real quick. And so those are some of the things you have to deal with when you go to Florida, I guess. So you have to be careful about that. So a word to the wise in that way. But uneventful, calm days and experiences, that's what we want. It can induce a calm and a tranquility. But that's not always the peace of God that this fruit is talking about, and these scriptures point us to. The peace of God is formed from an internal calm, produced by His Spirit.

It's the result of resting in a relationship with God. It's really less about life lining up according to everything we wish. 78-degree temperatures, calm skies, you know, money in the bank. It's really about our desires lining up to the realities of life. Because, as we know, the realities of life will sometimes bring about an unexpected storm and moment of difficulty and challenge that we have to deal with. And that brings us to the point that peace, then, is resting in a relationship with God, like that bird, resting in the midst of a raging storm in a nest that has been provided. It's when life throws us a curve ball that we discover the meaning of peace and how we react to that. When a major trial acts, ask ourselves, how do we react?

How do we face it? It's not always a major thing. It can be just some of the mundane aspects of life that come to us that can perhaps be a barometer for us of how much of that peace of God is really directing, guiding our lives, and anchoring us in a reality.

There are times, as every mother and father knows, in the midst of one moment a very peaceful household, the kids are quiet, and then all of a sudden a roar comes from the basement or the backyard, and the kids are out of control. Something has happened. Somebody has done something, and the tranquility of the moment when you might be just enjoying that three o'clock cup of tea and a few moments of rest, it is shattered. How do you, as a parent, react when that takes place? How do we react when you check into the hotel and your reservation has been lost?

Or you get to the ticket counter at the airport and the flight is delayed or canceled?

The inner peace at that moment is challenged, isn't it? And it has been, for so many of us, with those small things like that, that we have to deal with. How do we react? How do we deal with that? When we're at peace with God, frankly, we can react a little bit better than we may sometimes do because we can roll with the punches and realize that, in some cases, maybe even that canceled flight or that other detour that delays us or changes our plans just might be God's hand watching over us in our life, and we may never know about that.

We might find out about it later, but the peace of God, when we have that deep peace, we can be kinder to others. Jesus trusted in His Father to carry all of them in the boat through the storm. When He said to them, Why are you fearful? How is it that you have no faith? He was showing them that there's a bigger lesson in life to learn. Our life is in God's hands when we commit it to Him. He is in control, and He can and does control and guide our lives as we allow Him and we let Him and we yield to it. When we let go and we let God, that can begin bringing about the lessons of peace for us. And it's things that we need to learn and recognize that when those winds come up, when those headwinds get pretty strong, the calm is broken, what we really have to do at that time, if we really believe that our life is in God's hands, we have to turn into the wind. All of us that have flown on an airplane know that the big airliners, they take off from the runway into the wind because it's when you take off into the wind that they get more lift under the wings to fly. An aircraft carrier turns into the wind when they're going to launch so that those jets get the maximum amount of lift for the short runway space they have there to get off the carrier and into the air. When we hit a rough patch, when the winds blow, there are times when we have to turn into the wind and recognize that God is guiding our lives. He is working with us and that He can then lift us and cause us to fly in a sense above the problem. But we have to accept that and look at that as a challenge.

It's when everything seems to be going against you, Henry Ford said, that you have to remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.

That kind of peace allows us to live large and to fulfill the purpose and to focus our life in faith. Christ fulfilled His purpose. This is one episode here in this boat on the stormy sea where He had that one moment that He taught, but it also no doubt helped Him to learn as well, not only about the reaction of His disciples, but as He was building and working toward the ultimate crisis that came at the end of His life. And He did fulfill His purpose. And when He died, of course, we know that He said, it is finished. And in the reality of our lives, it is how we finish. It's how we finish that really will tell the tale about how we lived.

There's a story that I'd like to read to you. This is not a biblical story, but I think that it has the element of faith and peace within it here. It's a story from the time of Abraham Lincoln.

When Lincoln had been elected president of the United States, and he was in March of 1861 boarding a train in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois, to go to Washington to take the oath of office. In those years, presidents were sworn in in March, not January like today.

It was a wet, rainy day when Lincoln made his way from his home to the train depot.

We took our grandkids there a few years ago and spent a couple of days knocking around Springfield, Illinois. And that train depot is still there. And Lincoln walked from his home, which also was still there, up the street. All of his friends and neighbors were gathered and walking with him. He was by himself. His wife Mary didn't leave with him on that train.

She had chosen that day to throw a tantrum, one of the many that she did in their married life. And so he left alone, even without his sons. And so when he got to the train depot, again, there was a large crowd there. And just as he was before he boarded the train, he turned and he gave a very short address to them. And it's a very famous one. You can read it, but I'll read it to you here. You don't have to Google it and look it up just now. Wait till you get home and do that. But he read this speech. They say it was impromptu. I'm not quite sure about that, but he no doubt at least prepared somewhat. But here's what he said. And remember, he's going to Washington at the moment when the nation is just about to split in two and the Civil War begins.

And so he knows what's facing him as the president in trying to hold together the union, but the odds are against him. So here's what he said. My friends, no one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting.

To this place and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born and one is buried. I now leave not knowing when or whether ever I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of that divine being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance, I cannot fail.

Trusting in him who can go with me and remain with you and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To his care, commending you, as I hope in your prayers, you will commend me. I bid you an affectionate farewell. That is a very short speech of a departure that Lincoln gave. When you read his story, which I know many of us know what he then did get into once he became president and the tumultuous four-year term that he had, you can begin to sense there was something inside the man, an intercom, that allowed him to face the storm of the Civil War with all of its pressures.

I've read a fair amount of books about Lincoln in that period of time, and they all seem to comment on that. You realize that he, under the tremendous pressure that he had and the internal pressure from even his cabinet and his own party and the pressures of a war, were difficult. Then he didn't have the tranquility of the family life that would have meant so much more as well, but he kept it all together. His whole life, in that sense, in that moment is remarkable at many levels. As we know, Lincoln did finish his task. The faith that he did have, such as it was, and it was a very strong human faith. I personally think that God put that man there at that time, at that moment, to preserve the union of the United States. He had, I'm sure, a bit more help than what he could have mustered himself, but it gave him that calm. It gave him an inner peace.

In his own way, he rested in God, and he did look to God. Again, the accounts of Lincoln's life seem to indicate that even a personal faith in God, a Creator, grew during that period of time, which, of course, as we all know then, it ended by he did return to Springfield, but he returned in a coffin as he was assassinated and is buried there in Springfield to this day. But again, it illustrates this point that peace is a result of resting in a relationship with God, and it's what we must build. As the bird builds its nest to layer young, we build a relationship with God, step by step, over a period of time. And it's not always about life lining up according to the way we want it to go, and our five-year plan, and our goals, and everything that we lay out and can do on paper or with the help of a slick computer program that can help us chart it out.

When we have those tools, it can and should be used to help us financially plan or to plan out and chart out a life. But there are going to be the unexpected moments that will come, and it's that inner peace that we have. It's about our desires lining up to the realities of the life that comes at us that reflects the peace, the peace of God that we have. Peace is about resting in a relationship with God. There's another story from the scriptures that we can look at to help us understand this concept of peace, and it's that of the Apostle Paul.

I'd like for you to turn over to Philippians 4.

We know the broad outlines of Paul's life. After many years and many successes of preaching the gospel and establishing churches in Asia and Greece, ultimately Paul was arrested in Jerusalem, put in prison, and in a sense locked down for several years before he was released for a short time. He was imprisoned a second time and during that second imprisonment he died. But during his first imprisonment that he writes this letter to the church at Philippi. And in chapter 4 of Philippians, he talks about the peace that he has. Keep in mind Philippians is written from prison, or at least an imprisonment. There's probably a house arrest that Paul had during his first imprisonment and not quite as rough as his second imprisonment. Roman jail was not meant to keep people for very long periods of time. There was not an exercise yard. There was not gourmet cooking classes. There was not therapy to rehabilitate a criminal in the Roman system.

Most Roman prisons were meant basically as a holding pin until you either released or you're headed to death. Now Paul's first imprisonment was more of a house imprisonment, it seems, but it was still with a guard and he didn't have the freedom. But when you read Philippians, you know that it is an upbeat, encouraging, positive letter to a church that he had a very good relationship with, the church at Philippi. And they sent him aid and assistance and always had a very good relationship with the church at Philippi. And what he writes here, beginning in verse 1 of Philippians, he says this, I implore Eodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Evidently, they must have been two members that had a little bit of a disagreement. And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the Gospel with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the Book of Life. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice.

Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, overly concerned, overly worried, high anxiety. And how often is that a problem for some of us?

Anxiety. To be anxious over a trip, over something going on in the church, something going on in the job or within your family structure. And it creates anxious moments and worry and fear.

And I know for a mother, worry goes right along with the job description, and I understand that. But Paul says here, be anxious for nothing. And it's left to each of us to apply that in our life.

But he says, in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. If when the moments of anxiety come and the situations where anxiety and concern, worry, how will it turn out? How will I get it done? How can I possibly solve this particular situation? How can we do that in whatever it might be? And we all face these things. In the church right now, we face challenges with so many different matters that go on with the personnel in the church, our ministry, and making sure we have an ongoing ministry to provide for the people of God, to pastor, and to take care of things. And international areas of the church right now are at a point where some things need addressing. And we look at some of these and we think, how are we going to do it?

And I know that for my part in it, this particular verse is right there. It has to be in the forefront of my mind because while I wonder how will we do it, and there's a bit of anxiety, I have to recognize that we have to put it to God in prayer and with thanksgiving and let our request. He already knows the request. It's His church. It's His work. It's His people.

And I've come to believe and see more times than I've been able to work things out myself, that God works with people long in advance to prepare them for roles of service, whether it's in the ministry, whether it's in a local congregation to help encourage and work with people. God prepares us for that. He prepares people long in advance when we don't know. And if He knew a Jeremiah from the womb or a David from the womb, if He prepared an Apostle Paul for the work that He did through Him, He can prepare any of us and anyone else for whatever role within His church to keep the church cared for. And again, I'm not just talking about ministers, though I believe that too. But as we look around at our congregations, we see that, again, people, you know, things change over a period of time. You may not visit a place for a while and you come in as I've had the opportunity and you visit a congregation after several years, and it's almost like it's a different group. And people move in. People come in new. And those people fill roles. And some of the most important roles are that of encouraging, helping, serving.

Behind the scenes, not always in front. To take care of people, to encourage people, to help people. And God provides that. So I don't worry about the future of God's church. We will work as hard as we can and do work with wisdom, but I know that God has people out there. We just have to find who He's prepared. And when notices go out and requests go out, things begin to happen.

And we have to live our life like that. And that creates a peace while we recognize we have to do certain things. But we also know that we have to let our requests be made known to God. And the peace of God will guard our hearts and our minds through Christ Jesus. He goes on in verse 8, Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things.

I've read whole books on that particular section of Philippians and so have you.

And they can be very helpful. They can give insight. But it gets to how we think.

And again, how we look at one another, how we look toward God. And having that framework and that frame of mind is, again, a key to developing that peace, the peace of God's spirit within us here. The things, he said, then which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do. And the God of peace will be with you.

When we put those thoughts, when we think on those things, then the God of peace, will be with us, which means that we will have the peace of God.

You know, this scripture like this, when again, I mentioned how familiar it is, and well-worn and well-expounded, but it's a scripture that ultimately has to be written on our heart. If we meditate on those things, then they'll become a part of our heart. And it becomes somewhat automatic, maybe more automatic, as we're called to do it.

I mean, we read it from a scripture, and we read it on our knees, we read it and think deeply about it. We go back to it when we may have not lived up to it, and we do it, and then it becomes, ultimately, it has to be a part of our heart.

This type of peace, done by the way Paul is describing it here, it doesn't come easy, and it doesn't come with an app. It doesn't come from an app. How many of us have apps on our phone that are Bible apps, or things that have nice comfortable sayings on us? Go ahead, raise your hand. I've got them. Okay, yeah. And they're very useful. They're very good. I mean, I access my Bible app, and if I want, I can subscribe to this particular app, and they can send me a feel-good message every day. And I've done that, and then after, you know, maybe it's an email, maybe it's an app, but you know what? It has to go to our heart, ultimately.

It has to go into our heart, and that's done by God writing it on our hearts by His Holy Spirit.

Paul was in prison, and he wrote this from his heart. I don't know that he had any books to refer to or scrolls as they would have been at the time. He already knew it, and that had been probably written in his heart. His piece, to write such a letter from the challenge of the environment that he was in, his piece was with God and from God, and he recognized that it controlled the externals that he couldn't always control because his imprisonment stretched on for some time, longer than he thought that it would. Again, peace is the result of resting in a relationship with God. It's not about life lining up to what we want all the time.

It's about our desires lining up to the realities of life, and when we get that, then we can rest in a relationship with God. And Paul had the optimism that he had because he had a peace that came from God's Spirit. He rested in God, and that's how he finished.

He finished his course, as he would say, to Timothy in 2 Timothy, and he knew that there was a crown waiting for him at that time, laid up for him at Christ's coming.

There's one more story that I can leave you with here today, and this one's a family story, and it's the reason that so many of us are here today.

Many of you know about a month ago, Joseph Koviak and Rose went to the home of my son, daughter-in-law, Ryan and Stephanie, to spend a better part of a week taking care of our grandchildren while the parents went off to enjoy a little vacation and related anniversary celebration, which they were able to do. But on the morning after Joe and Rose arrived at Ryan and Stephanie's home, Joe woke up disoriented, and there was a problem, and the ambulance was called, and by the time they got to the hospital, there was a realization that it was a pretty serious heart problem, and transferred to a more specialized heart hospital there in Indianapolis, confirmed after testing that aorta was leaking, Joe's condition was inoperable, and he just had a few hours to live. And it was at that point that once he accepted that verdict, which is a stunning thing for anyone to get it so unexpectedly, and with such a finality, that I think the the peace that Joe had within his life kicked in.

Because once he accepted that, he began to work the telephones. We all know that Joe liked to talk, and Joe called his children. His daughter Stephanie, of course, was right there with his wife Rose, and he called the rest of his children and said goodbye.

And then he got hold of his siblings, and spent some time saying goodbye to his brother and his sisters over a period of time. I don't know exactly how long it was. Another Josh Creech, the minister in Indianapolis, came, and Ryan Hall found out about it, was on his way down there to visit as well. And some time was spent talking to everyone and having a chance to say goodbye.

But to have the presence of mind to do that, and to just methodically go from one telephone, as I understand it, multiple phones were being used to bring this about and get everybody together, and to say goodbye, and give some encouragement to his brother, to his sisters, to his children, to his grandson who he was able to talk to and give a parting farewell and piece of life advice to, it's gold. It's gold. And then after he was finished, he said he was just tired and take a nap and rolled over, went to sleep, and didn't wake up.

And it appears that God gave him a gift, and he used it well. I think because of the peace that he was, he had built and developed over his life through all of his experiences in his life.

And that peace allowed him to do that. When my son called and told me that he had died, and how that played out that afternoon, that day in the hospital, it was just one of those things that as I was telling me, I just heard him, and I realized I told my son, Ryan, and, well, he showed you how to die. He showed us how to die.

And that's a pretty good gift for anybody to give to their family and to those who know them.

But I have to think that that comes from an inner peace that was there by the Spirit of God.

Peace is less about life lining up according to our desires. Peace is about our desires lining up to the realities of life, and then being able to meet them in the moment.

Peace is about resting in a relationship with God.

If we can learn that, then we can all be better off.

And so in Joe Simkowiak's life, it's how he finished. And he finished from, he finished in the faith. For all of us, as we think about the peace of God and the moment we're here to remember and the life that we're going to remember here in a short time, let us all hope that we can have the peace of God to guide us through all that is yet ahead of us.

So that we can have that deep relationship with God that comes by a peace. And when the storms of life come about us and bend the limbs upon which we reside, we can just spread our wings and protect our family and our people and just ride it out because we have that peace. And remembering above all things that is how we finish that counts.