Just when I think every biblical story has been told, I discover a completely fresh and faithful retelling. The Story of Us by Mitali Perkins presents the story of creation, redemption, and restoration through the perspective of the four classical elements: earth, air, fire, and water.
Maybe that doesn’t sound like it would be interesting. But the way Perkins tells it, in her sparse poetic language, gave me chills when I read it.
Our original mandate, before the fall, was to care for and cultivate the earth. But in our fall, creation fell too. And those fallen elements now produce tornado, flood, earthquake, inferno.
But beautifully, when Jesus our Redeemer comes, he begins redeeming creation, too. Jesus enters the scene, using creation the way it was intended. He uses earth made into clay to heal a blind man’s eyes. He uses water to wash the disciple’s feet. The story culminates in the redemption of all things, when the world itself will be made new.
The Story of Us reminds me of Romans 8:20-21. “For the creation was subjected to frustration… in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.” It’s not just us who Jesus came to redeem and restore, but the whole world he created.
One of my favorite things about this book are the lush, layered illustrations created by Kevin and Kristen Howdeshell. They really bring to life the story behind Perkins’s spare text. The art has a wonderfully textured look that makes you want to touch each page.
The Story of Us leaves lots of room for conversations as the child notices things or as a parent pulls different threads with each reading.
