O’Hana and Shalom

I was fortunate to live in the Hawaiian Islands for two years while I was stationed at the Marine Corps Air Base in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu. I have since returned to the Islands two times and I plan to retire there one day. The Islands are so beautiful that I am at a loss for words to adequately describe it. With over 300 days of sunshine a year and no snow or ice, plus mild summers, the average year-round temperature is a comfortable 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Flowers and trees everywhere and beautiful Pacific blue waters and beaches. I attended the University of Hawaii Manoa while there and loved every minute of it.

An often heard word in the islands is O’Hana which means “family” (in an extended sense of the term, including blood-related, adoptive or intentional). In a very real sense all of us are family—all people on planet Earth. Like most families there is love and there is conflict. I pray every day for love and peace and the absence of conflict in the world. I long for a time when all people everywhere will enjoy health, peace, love and happiness. I like the Hebrew word “shalom” which means peace and much more—it means well-being and wholeness. I pray for “shalom” and a true sense of “O’Hana” for all our world. The Bible promises that such a time will indeed become a reality. Let us all pray that it will be soon.

Read all of Gene Allen Groner’s articles at www.linkedin.com/in/gene-allen-groner-6aaa74154/

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