Sometimes peace and quiet is right in front of your nose. This summer, my wife, our son and grandson and I built a large, screened-in gazebo in our yard. We built it for a cookout we did for the Gospel Messengers, some other musician friends and family. The day of the cookout, Ruth and I were busy all day, cooking, serving and making sure that everyone was enjoying themselves. That is, when there wasn't music going on that I was involved in. I didn't get to sit down once in the gazebo, and Ruth only had a couple of minutes.
The days following the cookout were busy with cleaning up and putting stuff away, and dealing with all the things we'd put off while we were working on the yard and gazebo (I also built a bird sanctuary, feeding area with two small waterfalls.)

Three or four days ago, we realized that the dust had cleared, and we could finally gome some peace and quiet of our own. While most people were busy having cookouts or visiting with family and friends on the Labor Day weekend, we were by ourselves. These last few days, we've taken our supper out to the gazebo, and have enjoyed the silence, the early evening soft breezes and beautiful days. In the morning, while we have breakfast, we sit and enjoy watching the birds and squirrels in the bird sanctuary. These quite, peaceful times are very nourishing and strengthening. It's beautiful to have a retreat, right at hand. We don't need to climb a mountain or drive to the seashore. There is peace and quiet at home. Sometimes, it's more a matter of just turning off your head for awhile and enjoying the silence. Not that peace has to be quiet. I often find great peace just sitting, relaxing and listening to music. Peace and music works for me...

Jerry