My next series of posts is a story by Leo Tolstoy that I have adapted. The tale asks the question, “Where is God when evil is happening?” The story comes from Tolstoy’s book Walk in the Light and Twenty-Three Tales. Tolstoy brings us face to face with the mystery of evil as it envelopes a simple Russian merchant and changes his life. As the story unfolds before you in my weekly posts, ask yourself, “If evil comes uninvited into my life, will it make me bitter or better?”

Once, in Russia, in the town of Vladmir, there lived a young merchant named Ivan. He had a good business, a loving family, and a house of his own. Ivan was a handsome and fun loving man. In his youth he liked to party. But after he married he gave up drinking, except for now and then.

One summer day Ivan was going to the fair to sell his goods, and as he said good-bye to his family his wife said to him, “Ivan, don’t go today; I’ve had a bad dream about you.”

Ivan laughed and said, “You are afraid I will spend all our money at the fair.”

His wife replied: “I do not know what I am afraid of; all I know is that I had a bad dream! I dreamt you returned from town, and when you took off your cap I saw that all your hair had turned grey.”

Ivan laughed. “That’s a lucky sign,” he said.  “See if I don’t sell all my goods, and bring you some presents from the fair.”

So he said good-bye to his family and drove away.

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Next time, a chance encounter will change Ivan’s life forever. See you at the next post!

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Story adapted from “God Sees the Truth, But Waits” in Walk in the Light and Twenty-Three Tales by Leo Tolstoy