I have a friend, Carla – she’s from Birmingham… I tell you that so you can read her words with a Southern accent. One day I happened to call her right after she picked up her carpool, and she had a carful of kids. As I was chatting with her she interrupted our conversation to caution her children.
“Hey ya’ll, listen up! I am on the Peace Train today and you are fixin’ to make me get off track. If I have to get off the Train, you will regret it!”
I laughed and asked what in the world she was talking about. She shared with me how she chooses peace and how she humorously put it into a word picture for her children.
Her take is this – in the life of a mom, peace can be elusive. It is not going to reign in your life without some action on your part.
“Susan,” Carla said, “if I want peace in my life, I must take it. I must make a conscious effort to pursue it and make it a part of my day. So I decided that every day, if possible, I’m going to have peace in my house. I’m going to get on the train that is on the right track to peace. And I am going to bypass the track to anger. When I discovered I could get on the “peace train” by choice I started recognizing things that were making me get off the train. I began to share with my children what got me off the train like attitudes, arguments, or behavior. It wasn’t difficult for my kids to see what actions disrupt the peace in our house and why it was better that we don’t engage in them – because if they don’t go there, Mommy stays on the Peace Train.”
The kids get it. In fact, when play gets out of control at Carla’s house, and she has to admonish her children, it’s not uncommon for them to explain to their friends, “Hey, let’s go do something else – it’s not a good thing if we get my mom off her Peace Train.”
Whether you have toddlers or teenagers, peace void of anger makes for much better relationships. Tomorrow, I am going to start off and stay on the right track.
Could you use a ride on the Peace Train?
ALL ABOARD!
