I’m a war dog.

I am always up for a fight. I’m competitive, so much so that I will sabotage my own grandmother if it means I win rock, paper, scissors. I’m a terrible sport. My husband beat me in Wii bowling last week, and I have refused to play with him since. I am Monica Geller from Friends throwing punches to win in a friendly game of flag football.

I recognize this in myself, so that’s a start, right?

On January 8th, Pastor Trevor challenged us to ruminate on the Fruits of the Spirit and choose a word to focus on, to grow in, in 2017. Clearly, (clearly) the area I need the most work in this year is Peace.

Not necessarily in the sense of having inner peace. I have the inner peace that a relationship with Jesus brings. I know that I am secure in His hands.

I’m talking more about peace, the action. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9 NIV). Punching my husband over imaginary bowling wouldn’t be making peace, and frankly, no one would call me anything close to a child of God while I’m behaving that way (however deserved a sock in the nose might be).

So how do I attain my goal for this year? Because, let’s be honest, left to my own devices I will have forgotten to be peaceful before February comes.

Psalm 34:14 says, “Turn away from evil, and do good. Look for peace, and go after it” (NIV).

Step 1: Turn away from evil and do good.

I would like that to mean that I never put myself in a situation where I could give my peace away. However, that is an impossibility. I work in an office. I have a family, and a new set of in-laws. I go to Wal-Mart (despite my vehement protests). I have to interact with people on a daily basis. People who drink the last of the coffee and leave dirty dishes in the sink. People who are inconsistent and occasionally grumpy. People I know well and so am less likely to give grace to. Can you see where I might run into a problem there?!

I can’t run from my life (or barricade myself in my office or move to Antarctica and live with the penguins) in pursuit of peace. So then I am forced (or I must choose) to turn away from my own personal evil -- my anger, my frustration, my pet peeves, my competitive spirit -- and focus on part two: Do good.

Choosing to make peace when your first inclination is a Grade A hissy fit…that is hard work. But it reaps such great rewards.

Take last night for example. My husband and I have planned to get on track in the new year. We’re meal planning and packing lunches. We resolved to spend Sunday afternoon cooking and prepping for the week.  What actually happened was, I spent Sunday afternoon cooking and packing lunches for both of us while he played video games in the next room. Offering moral support, I’m sure…

To top it all off, as I was nearing the end of my task, he comes into the kitchen with a movie in hand. A movie I am in no mood to watch. Why should he choose the entertainment? Haven’t I earned the right to the TV for the rest of the evening? Was I a little frustrated? YES!

In that moment, I had a choice: hissy fit or peacemaker. One would certainly give me my way, and in the process hurt my husband and, perhaps in the long run, splinter my marriage. The other would mean a compromise, a sacrifice, a release of entitlement. No fun, no fun.

Perhaps because my word (and this post) weighed so close to my mind, I chose to be a peacemaker in that moment. I told him yes, we would watch that movie and maybe after we could play a game together -- a compromise, something he wanted and something I preferred. But my husband knows me and volunteered to save his movie for another night so we could have more time to do what I wanted.

Great rewards and control of the TV! If that doesn’t encourage peacemaking, I don’t know how to motivate you!! So turn away from evil, and do good.

Step 2: Look for peace, and go after it.

Peace is not easy to spot. I’ve noticed that in the whole two weeks that I’ve been looking for ways to be peaceful. Peace often looks like humility (a you-are-more-important-than-me attitude), or like nothing (an incident that never happened).

How do you go after, or pursue, something that never happened? Is that even possible?

The answer is yes. Just for argument’s sake, let’s use the example of the greatest incident that never happened: humanity’s complete and utter destruction.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail” (Lamentations 3:22, NIV).

Isn’t that the ultimate example of making peace? Even at great personal sacrifice -- the life of His own Son -- God chose to make a way for peace with us, those who were clearly in the wrong and deserving of punishment.

In Matthew, Jesus tells us “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (or peace) for your souls” (Matthew 11:29, NIV, parenthetical mine).

Well, that makes it simple, doesn’t it? Learn from Jesus, go after Jesus, and you and I will find His rest, His peace for our souls.

However, a very simple answer can still be a challenge in practicality. Example: I know I should exercise every day to live a long and healthy life. Do I exercise every day? No. Do I exercise at all? No. See? Challenging. (My word was not self-control; don’t judge me.)

So what am I doing to practically pursue Jesus and learn from Him? Two things. I am making a daily quiet time a priority. Before my feet hit the floor every morning, I spend time learning from Him by spending time in His Word. Secondly, I am surrounding myself with a small group of women who are reading through the Bible together and meeting weekly to hold each other accountable, discuss what we’ve learned, and grow in faith together.

Simple? Yes.

Challenging? Yes.

Rewarding? Yes.

This year, I choose peace.