shalom

So, my sister got me this book for my birthday

and I started it this morning. It's really good, scholarly yet surprisingly accessible. (I zipped through 24 pgs in like, twenty minutes!) At the outset, Eckert is discussing reasons why women may not feel whole in our society--relational loss; trying to do-it-all and failing; criticisms that we've internalized and begin to believe about ourselves; cultural messages that sexualize and fracture women, relegating them to bodies that sell things, objects of desire; even the church, which, while it is supposed to be a safe community for broken people of all backgrounds and genders to work together, each using their gifts fully, is all too often a place dominated by men, where the concept of who women should be is extremely narrow.

Then, she begins to discuss definitions for wholeness, and I thought you'd be interested in this:

"...the Hebrew prophets [discuss a way to live whole] called shalom: 'in the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight--a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts are to be fruitfully employed... Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be'" (Cornelius Platinga 10). 

So, shalom to you, dear readers. Have a flourishing, rich, delightful day!