Gò0dNews for Everyone
In The Beginning
“F
by Todd R. Gunderson
ar, far away,” “Once upon a time,” “Long, long
to recall Genesis 1:1 when I hear these words. In fact, ask
ago,” and “It was a dark and stormy night” are
anyone you know and see if they can tell you the first words
commonly used story starters. However, the
of the Bible. You will be amazed at the number of people
latter, the opening line from Paul Clifford, a novel by Edward
who know. You may also be amazed by the number of
Bulwer-Lytton published in 1830, has been used for more
people who know nothing else about the Bible. Paul Clifford
than story starting—it is frequently used to indicate sarcasm
also suffers from the same fate. Many have heard, “It was
in literary elements, short funny stories, and jokes. Each of
a dark and stormy night…” and many use it as a sarcastic
these beginnings certainly communicates what might be
start to their own stories. But have you ever heard the
expected. A story starter is important.
rest of the sentence, “…the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.” The writing is beautiful and sets a great scene, but believe it or not, The BulwerLytton Fiction Contest, “…challenges participants to write an atrocious opening sentence to the worst novel never written.” Sounds unfair in a way, considering the beautiful description he paints. The best story ever written rarely receives criticism for its beginning. The
If you think about it, we all have a story starter. I often
Bible has endured for 2700 years, yet its beginning shares
joke about my beginning starting with my father, who as a
the most important truth we have—that God created our
young man plowed the dusty fields on the plains of North
world and all that is in it. The Biblical narrative shares how
Dakota. The family eked out a living as sharecroppers in
we can all have new beginnings through Christ who is the
the 1940’s. It’s a true story with a humble beginning, but
Word. John 1:1 proclaims, “In the beginning was the Word,
it relates an important truth I like to bring forth; my father
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” I
worked hard and endured many hardships along the way.
encourage you to open the Bible’s New Testament and find
Knowing his success, you would know why I am proud.
the lovely words in Matthew 5:14-16, so you, too, can be the
As the start of Paul Clifford, every story starter serves its purpose. “In the beginning…” is another important
light of the world. Find your story beginning as the flame that fights against the darkness.
fairytale connotation of the word “story”). These are the three words that start our Holy Bible. I find it hard not
40 // October 2021
About The Author
narrative starter (I use narrative to disassociate from the Todd R. Gunderson is a teacher, author, and woodworker who lives and works in Cleveland, TN. He has been teaching for 25 years for Bradley County Schools. He earned his teaching degree at Lee University and a Master of Science in Education from Arkansas State University. Todd lives the country life with his wife, Laura, 4 children, 4 cats, and 2 dogs. You can see his books and woodworking projects at ToddRGunderson.com.
