So really what is the difference between a peace maker and a peace keeper? Well the online dictionary defines a peacekeeper as: “a person who maintains or restores peace and amity; mediator” and a peacemaker to be: “a person...that tries to make peace...” I don’t know about you, but those sound very similar to me upon first reading the definitions. But they are fundamentally different.
As the actual words would imply a peacekeeper will keep peace and a peacemaker will make peace. I myself have always been a peacekeeper even when I know what I’m keeping is really anything but peace. I’ll keep controlled chaos if it masquerades as peace. Just as long as everyone is getting along, it doesn’t matter that no one feels free to be themselves. Talk about not rocking the boat, I’d do everything I could to keep the boat from ever rocking-by me or anyone else. But that’s not really peace.
The hard thing about peacemaking is that it sometimes looks nothing like peace in its pursuit. As my wise cop cousin once said, "Sometimes the only way to make peace is to fight for it. " And we all know that fighting looks nothing like peace.
I battle how to make sense of my place in this world and how to become the woman God wants me to be when I’ve got even my definitions backwards and mixed up. I trust though that the end result of truly having peace that was made will be far greater than keeping fake peace has been. Maybe I’ve just gotten them out of order. make peace first then keep it after-hum yes that’s doable!
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