Peace

What does it mean to believe in peace?  To work for Peace?  To pray for Peace?  Is peace even possible in our world?  Can we really make a difference?  How can we do that?  This dilemma is caught up in the words of one my favorite songs;

 There are plenty of people who pray for peace,
But if praying were enough it would have come to be.

-Jewel, Life Uncommon, from her Spirit Album

 How can we make a difference?  That question must have weighted heavily on the mind of Evangelist Lu Mountenay when a nuclear weapons plant was being built in Kansas City, Missouri.  What could she do?  Could she have any impact?  She would never know if she didn't try.

Before writing further, I should tell you that I have a lot of admiration for this gentle but determined lady.  Lu is a cancer survivor.  She and her husband Tom are also the parents of several children and grandchildren, including a son who lost his battle with the same disease.  During the summer of 2004, Joan and I were on a house hunting trip in Lamoni, IA because I was being reassigned to Graceland University as Campus Minister.  Lu and Tom were being reassigned to Independence.  By happy coincidence, we spent a half hour with Lu in the basement of her home when tornado sirens sounded their ominous warning.  That was enough to convince us that a basement was a very good thing to have when you live in "tornado alley", even though most people there don't have one.  We bought their home. 

That now seems a long time ago.  And the threat of tornadoes, while always potentially devastating, pales in comparison to the larger threat of nuclear weapons.  What could one Evangelist do?

Lu's story about this is best told in her own words, which you can find by clicking here.  I hope you enjoy it.

Of course Lu's story raises one more question: What can you and I do to help bring about peace?

Of course I am pretty good at identifying the questions, but I'm not so good at acting upon the answers!

Questions (but not answers) posted by Carman