My family and I had finally escaped homelessness and were fighting to start again. We had nothing – no furniture for the small flat we rented, not even beds. We sat and slept on the floor. We had no dishes or pans for cooking. Everything we once owned had been sold long before to try to avoid becoming homeless. Now we struggled to find jobs and buy food. I was fearful that we would fail and be back to living in a car. I was overwhelmed, and the more I focused on my problems, the bigger they seemed.

One day, as I was washing my children’s clothes in the bath, feeling  I had lost my way and lost my peace, I stopped and prayed for God’s help. After hanging the clothes to dry on the fence outside, I went up to my room, sat on the floor, and started to read my Bible. When I came to Mark 4, where Jesus calmed a storm with the words ‘Peace! Be still!’ I said the words over and over, ‘Peace! Be still!’ I realised that the problems I faced were not bigger than God.

I held on strongly to the peace of God, and in time we got back on our feet. Our trust in God grants us the peace we need to face life’s problems.

Prayer: Loving God, grant us the peace that only you can give us. Amen