While speaking to someone recently and as she shared with me some of the challenges in her life which she has had to deal with for some time now it was obvious that what she craved for in the midst of her situation was peace and contentment. Peace means different things for different people, and we often fiercely disagree about how to achieve it. Are there places where we can find peace? Can you have peace even in the midst of the challenges of life? Is peace to do with external influences on your life or is it something you receive from beyond your own being?

This peaceful photo is the view from the front of my house which is on the Island of Harris. The house is named in Gaelic “Tamh” which is translated peace/tranquillity.


The cottage is a holiday home http://www.harrisselfcatering.co.uk/  which I let out to visitors to Harris. The isolation and the scenery certainly provide the setting for an experience of peace and tranquillity.


Many have made similar comments about the sanctuary of Cathcart Trinity Church. http://www.cathcarttrinity.org.uk/ They find a peace there be it as they sit in the silence or during a worship service. I am sure that many have places where they long to be when life gets frantic and out of control….a place of peace.

But that’s the problem isn’t it? If our peace & tranquillity is associated with a place, then we have to be at/in that place for us to experience its therapeutic effect. If it is to do with relaxation techniques we have to be engaged in them. But what if peace, real lasting peace is to be found in a person? What if the words Jesus once said to his followers “My peace I give to you” is really true? A peace that is independent of places and our circumstances in life – a peace that is found when one is in a relationship with Jesus Christ may just be worth considering and investigating!