Kendra led with a familiar sentiment: “I don’t think of myself as consciously, intentionally working as a peacemaker.”

Have you ever felt that? We hear it a lot—as well as feel it ourselves—and it’s exactly why we’re sharing these stories of Everyday Peacemaking.

This movement of restoration—the lasting change we’re all working toward—is quiet, unassuming, and wildly radical for those with eyes to see.

The more she spoke, the more obvious it became: Kendra works for peace every single day. 

“Peacemaking is relational for me,” she shared. “It’s about those everyday reactions that grease the wheels of peacemaking. People might want to do the ‘big thing’ without having done all the little relational things that make the big things possible.”

Among many other responsibilities, Kendra works at the Boys and Girls Club in her community, where many of the kids live with daily pain. 

“If we’re not willing to engage with these kids on their terms every day, we just don’t have any business doing the big, public work of ‘peacemaking.’ It starts in those everyday moments.”

They come to ‘The Club’ (as Kendra calls it) to have fun, but Kendra sees the work much more deeply than that: she is building trust and growing empathy. In fact, affirming kids and instilling self-confidence and trust in them seems to be a specialty of Kendra’s. It’s clearly one of her passions. 

“I value the praxis of peacemaking over the platform of peacemaking. What does this look like every day? Anyone can build a slick looking platform, but will they back it up with the daily work?”

Praxis over platform, friends. Selah.

Author: Matt Willingham

Matt Willingham is a writer, photographer, and content creator with over ten years experience living and working in some of the hardest-hit conflict zones in the world. He and his wife, Cayla, are now based in San Diego where they’re raising three little peacemakers and working to promote empathy and understanding in their community.

@matt.willingham