The bridge from fear — and its redeemed form, hope — to peace is active waiting....
We all long for peace, and at many levels. We would desire love and joy, even more. But, we'll take peace...there is so little of it.
The kernel of this longing is hope that it can still happen. And, if hope can crawl into our view, the prospect of peace is aroused. But, we can't strive for it. The troubled effort to achieve peace does not work...ever.
We have to wait for it. When we have hope for peace and are willing to wait for it, strangely, it unexpectedly arrives (Lamentations 3:24-26)...
...and it rings like Longfellow's bells of Christmas within us.
