The last of the comparisons of  Ecclesiastes.  "A time of war and a time of peace."

I've forgotten what peace in the world looks like.  I can't remember but one time in my life when some nation wasn't at war with another nation.  I was born in 1938, Germany invaded Poland in 1939, and it wasn't until May of 1945 that Germany surrendered, and finally Japan gave up in September of 1945.  WW2 was finally over.

We had five years of relative peace between 1945, and 1950 when Korea exploded--from 1950 to 1953.  (Ken flew in that war.)  It was finally ended when America brokered a semi-peace with Russia, by dividing Korea into North and South along the 38th parallel.  An impossible situation that has haunted us for sixty years and is currently about to blow up again.

Then Vietnam for twenty years.  From 1955 to 1975.  (Twenty years after Korea, Ken went back to war in Vietnam.)  It just goes on and on and on.  And laced in the middle of Vietnam, we had the cold war with Russia--everyone in America was really frightened and many built A-bomb shelters in their back yards.  That was the most frightening time that I remember--because Russia was allied with Cuba and helping them build missile sites aimed at America.  Ken was flying the Cuban defense--practicing delivery of A-bombs.  We had three kids by then.  It was really scary and close to home.

And for most of you younger people, there is the continual, never ending war in the Middle East.

Peace--where is it?  We Christians know that true peace will only come through a relationship with God through Christ.  He said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  John 14:27

The world has never known peace--on the outside.  The only true peace is within us--on the inside.  We know that God has a plan.  We may never know peace in our world, but we trust in Him in the middle of conflict.  He is our peace.  "Thy kingdom come..."