Dealing with tension - catching up after years apart

Last Sunday I caught up with friends whom I first met as a young and vulnerable 17-year-old. We were all straight out of year 12, brimming with excitement and eager to commence our lives as nurses. Forty years later we laughed about our naivety, shook our heads in agreement that “it’s not like the old days” and burst with love for each other as we gathered united in the truth that “we had survived”! Not only nurses training but as professional women in an ever-developing healthcare arena.

Leading up to this event I must admit I was filled with apprehension. Although we did not all keep in touch with each other-some of us did and so the level of contact between us over the past 40 years varied considerably. Would there be unresolved tensions? Would there be a lack of interest? Or would it feel like only yesterday when we all wore that unflattering blue uniform and paper cap with stripes?

As the day got even closer my apprehension changed to a deep sense of peace. This was not my doing! I had to trust so many people just to get me to the reunion-I am sole carer for my fragile aged parents and needed to rely on community in home care services for the time I would be away. Surprisingly when I set out to drive to my close friends' home for the weekend and the nurses reunion, I was actually excited and so looking forward to catching up with everyone. 

So where did this deep sense of peace come from?

It came from the Lord and His word, the Holy Scriptures. I am early into a new habit-the habit of starting each day with a short prayer and of reading a small part of the Bible (a couple of verses). This stood me in good stead for having my “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6). Although my life was filled with possible anxieties that could escalate- I was walking in His peace. This was not an earthly peace-just breathe and she’ll be right. It was a Godly peace-an overcoming reality- I had no need for concern, just to relax and move forward.

We ate, we laughed, and we chatted continually. The conversations varied amongst different people- some reminiscing some latest minute. It was such a fun catchup and I have the Lord solely to thank for it. Because without Him my insecurities would have ruled my day and my anxiety cruelly would have reigned!

But instead joy and fulfilment steered my day. Thank you, Lord for being my Saviour.