Saturday, February 22, 2020

On Redemption



Redemption is a beautiful concept. To take something, or someone, that was lost or broken or hurt and saving it or them. I can’t think of redemption without getting some tears in my eyes. I love the idea of something or someone being saved, being rescued. Maybe because I can so deeply relate to needing redemption.

I have had several moments in my life when I needed saving. Quite frankly, I need the redemption of Jesus daily. But some seasons stand out as a having a moment of redemption. When the darkness became light. When the valley path started rising to the mountains. When beauty rose from ashes and tears. Today is a day where I celebrate redemption.

It was eight years ago today that I became a mom.

It wasn’t at all the way I expected, but it was the path we came to be on. The path that led to redemption.

In fact, my plan, after a battle with infertility was to give birth on February 22, 2012. I had finally gotten pregnant in June the year prior and this was my due date. Until it wasn’t because I miscarried. Again. The events following that miscarriage showed us that the path we were to take to parenthood was the path of adoption.

The path of infertility and adoption was one of my lowest valleys. It felt dark. It felt lonely. It felt stagnant.

And then came the redemption. The saving. On the very day I thought I would give birth to a baby; one was placed in my arms. I felt the saving. I felt the weight of the darkness start to lift. I started to see the mountain path. My world had felt upside down and this little boy was turning it right side up again. I was a mom for the very first time.

The light was dawning and would continue to get brighter in this corner of my life. Parenthood would prove to have its own challenges (of course!), but my season of longing for a baby was redeemed. There was beauty rising from the ashes in my soul. My tears were tears of joy in the morning.

Adoption is considered a triad relationship: the child, the birth parents, and the adoption parents. We had a blessed opportunity to spend time with Isaac’s birth mother in the days before and after Isaac’s birth. We heard her story. We listened deeply. We cried with her. Yet, there was redemption. I don’t share her story or the beginning of Isaac’s story because they are not mine to tell, but I can say that the moment he placed was in my arms, there was a lot of redemption in the room. How could a mom not think about the woman who gave birth to her son on his birthday? She was first on my mind this morning. She gave me a gift. A gift of redemption. I hope she still feels redemption, too.

I love celebrating Isaac’s birthday. Today he opted to spend the day at home with his family playing with Legos. I am listening to him banter with his brothers as I write this. The story wasn’t at all what I expected when I wanted a baby. But this story has redemption and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.


Sunday, February 16, 2020

Show Jesus, Make Cookies





"....there’s something transformational about showing love to someone without all the glitter and spotlights. The people who understand this make joy their reward."

I read that last week in Live in Grace, Walk in Love by Bob Goff. The first person that popped in to my mind was my Gram. Honestly, she has been close to the front of my mind a lot recently. Today would have been her 89th birthday, and it is her first birthday she is celebrating in heaven. I miss her a lot. I thought you missed someone less with time. I miss her more with time.

She taught me so much about the best ways to live. The best ways to show Jesus. The simple ways to show Jesus. She loved simply. She loved, as most people remember her, with cookies. There isn't a lot of glitter in cookies, but they sure taste yummy, and yummy cookies make people smile. It was that simple.

And she had joy. I think of the song that goes "joy unspeakable and full of glory". That was Gram. She was always singing about joy. She knew the secret (that really shouldn't be a secret) that joy IS the reward. The more we love, the more joy we have. Talk about a gift with a high return on investment.

I want to show that kind of love. I want to help others see Jesus. I like the idea of a joyful reward. So, I have been baking a lot more cookies. It really is that simple.

Thanks for lesson, Gram. See you in heaven.