“Stories begin with a life at peace… a deep inner and external harmony when disparate parts flow together in a unity that is greater than the sum of the parts…
“We all have moments of shalom… it is life without sin, tragedy, emptiness, or fear… moments of rest, safety and warmth…
“For many of us recalling those moments produces not nostalgia and pleasure but significant sadness. Those times are gone, and often they were lost when shalom was shattered. But it is crucial to remember those moments when our story was at peace and we felt the warm and kind wind that blew from Eden into our life.
“To remember is to anticipate with growing the future day when our past shalom will appear in glory at the Day of the Lord… to imagine a new and better day and, even more, to move toward that day with passion and purpose.
“Shalom is shattered by sin, by the intrusion of a lie, a distortion of the truth that mars the pleasure of being naked, transparent, trusting, and true… shattering occurs when our dignity is assaulted and death enters to divide and destroy. The shattering is death. In every story, in every life, there are moments of death that take away our name and rename us as strangers, orphans, or widows.”
From: To Be Told: God Invites You to Coauthor Your Future, by Dan B. Allender, pp. 42-43
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