Redemption is the Author
I imagined having Sarah, the mother of Isaac over for tea again today.
I greeted her at the gate. The snow covered the ground just enough to remind us to take each step with intention. As we entered the house she started to remove all of her layers and as she unraveled her scarf she said, “Gah, it sure takes a lot of work to get comfortable in a new set of circumstances doesn’t it?!” I smirked, knowing exactly what she was trying to do... She told me to sit and that she’d take care of the tea and cookies today. I asked her after years and years of struggles and chaos, why I’m so quick to assume certain things would be simple and perfect? She smiled and said “Oh Elizabeth, redemption doesn’t always mean it’s beautifully wrapped with a bow... Sometimes redemption looks like enduring 39 lashes.” My eyes filled with tears because in that moment I realized I was guilty of picking up the mindset that one could be immune to disappointments or pain if they endured hard enough trials for a long enough time. I wept, then wept some more, grieving the ignorance and lack of humility I slipped into. Sarah rubbed my back then whispered, “Too often we want redemption to be the conclusion of the story but the truth is, Redemption is the author.”
She wrapped herself up in her layers, opened the door to a porch full of snow and then looked at me as she exited and said “walk with intention, Elizabeth.”
I’m learning that redemption isn’t this neat, polished, predictable fantasy I used to make it out to be. But that redemption is both the celebration and the suffering. It’s both heavy and light. It’s both the destination and the journey.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that’s the beautiful part about redemption, that it’s not always pretty. For too long I associated a struggle-free season with a redemptive season and I’m learning they’re not the same thing. There can be unexpected hard curves to a journey and it can still be radically redemptive... And just like that fresh layer of snow, we can intentionally walk through hard times because we know it’s being penned by Redemption...