“I don’t agree with his lifestyle, but he is my son and I love him!” – Rebecca Kendall

Where Peace Starts

“I don’t agree with his lifestyle, but he is my son and I love him!” Rebecca Kendall said while eating lunch with her husband Chris and me.

Her words held certain conviction and something else.  It was that indescribable something that was nibbling at my sensitivities.  I was not able to recognize that little something right off.  So, I spent the next hour searching her eyes to see if they would lead me to the earnestly sought-after answer.  And, try as I may, I couldn’t quite identify it at the time.  That seeking feeling didn’t leave me when we parted and went our separate ways.

Nor did it leave me over the next month or two.  The feeling kept nagging at me like a termite eating at the structure of my bones.  It wasn’t at the surface, but I could feel it there, down deep.  It continued to be below my skin until the next time we all had lunch together, just this week.

I sat directly across from Chris and Rebecca and next to their son Adam while we talked at length.

“What do you think son?”  Rebecca said, while keeping her eyes held fast to him, like those little rivets holding the pockets in place on Levi’s brand jeans.  Her intent was unmovable.  And, there was something else present there as well, causing those termites, still gnawing at my bones, to begin to fall away.

I knew then that there was nothing able to break the bond of love between the two.  Part of that displayed unconditional love included a twist.  An ingredient that took their connection to another level; a secret ingredient; like a glass of water with a satisfying twist of lemon.

Rebecca was fully at peace within.  There was no rancor present at all.  Disagreement still?  Yes. Resentment related to her son’s life choices?  No.  She has allowed a transformational peace to wholly change her.  It has also altered her relationship with her son forever.

“I love you son.” Flashed across the screen of my phone when I got in my car to leave.  It was from Rebecca.

“I love you too.”  I touched back. “But I’m pretty sure this was meant for Adam.”

It was, of course, meant for Adam.  It was also meant for me because it was an exclamation point to run off the last, lingering wonder I might have been hosting.  I felt the last termite or two exit my frame.  And, as they were leaving they made a remarkable declaration.

“Peace comes from the inside.”  

Peace is an essential, yet often unrecognized, component of human love.  When welcomed into one’s heart, it is truly transformational!  And, it changes more than one heart.  It has the ability to reach and change many hearts.

It is where peace starts.