It’s taken me a long time to write this.

The year only started a month… almost two months ago.

I really struggled with picking my word for the year.  It’s the hip thing to do in the Catholic blogging world.

What if I chose the wrong word?

What if everything I thought this year would be wasn’t?

What if I failed at truly living out my goal for the year?

As my mind churned and churned, my anxiety heightened.  I found myself comparing myself to others – not feeling good enough, feeling like an imposter.  Who am I really to be writing a blog about motherhood, faith, and science?

Then I stopped.  I paused.  I thought about why I started this blog.  And it wasn’t to reach a huge following.  It was for me to share my thoughts.  I began it therapeutically.  So I could feel some peace in my mind and thoughts

And there it was: Peace.

How do I find peace this year?  What will I do to bring about peace in my life and to those around me?

As I thought more about this word, I found myself drawn to the words of Saint Teresa of Calcutta: “What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”

Peace is simple.  And yet for those who struggle with anxiety, it can be a mountain to climb.  I can go weeks without feeling a sense of peace.  But those moments of peace are beautiful.  It’s waking up before everyone else to sit in the quiet and just be.  It’s waking to nurse a baby in the middle of the night when everything else is still.  It’s the stillness in lab in the early morning when no one else has arrived.

So how do I find peace beyond those still moments even in the hustle and bustle of life?  And how do I share that peace with others around me?