Shalom. The Hebrew word that is most simply translated as peace, is a word of restoration and wholeness. It is a word of promise spoken to people in ruinous situations. When you’re 12 months out of a 10-year marriage that leaves a 3-year-old child in never-ending transition between two homes, wholeness is laughable. When addiction is compounded by illness and your friends have abandoned you, you can’t begin to imagine how God can restore what you’ve lost.
For those who have wandered in the wilderness of divorce, the promised life eventually comes, often more tender and beautiful than before. Around those who have admitted their powerlessness over addiction and submitted themselves to God’s higher power, a community of support and faithfulness and care have arisen. The evidence of God’s fidelity to the promise of shalom is all around us.
This message is adapted from “Faith reflections: The Promise of Shalom” written by Collette Broady that first appeared in the August 2014 issue of Café magazine.
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