10/28/2025
In our group counseling course, we’ve been working through Dan Allender, PhD’s deeply moving reflections on story, suffering, and transformation. One excerpt especially resonates with the heart of our work:
“In the midst of affliction, we become either our truest self or our most false self.”
This line reframes conflict, not as something to avoid, but as a sacred invitation. When we face abandonment, betrayal, and shame, we stand at a crossroads. These moments of unnaming are PAINFUL, but they also hold the potential to reveal who we truly are.
Another quote that challenges our perspective:
“We will only love our story to the degree that we see the glory that seeps through our most significant shattering.”
💡 What if we celebrated the endings that shaped us? What if we honored the courage it took to face crisis and choose growth over withdrawal? Allender reminds us that denouement—the resolution—deserves recognition. It’s the spark that ignites the upward movement of a new story.
📖 Scripture affirms this redemptive lens:
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” — Romans 5:3–4
“Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials… because the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” — James 1:2–3
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” — Psalm 34:18
Conflict is not the end; it’s the beginning of transformation.
Let’s lean in.
Let’s listen.
Let’s celebrate the endings that make way for new beginnings.
Because in the heartache, we hear the whisper of the name that will one day be ours.
Read the Blog Post and Free Devotional to go deeper. saltandarrows.com/blog/gloryinconflict
