re·deem
verb \ri-‘dēm\
- a: to buy back. b: to get or win back
- to free from what distresses or harms: as a: to free from captivity by payment of ransom, b:to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental, c: to release from blame or debt : clear, d: to free from the consequences of sin
- to change for the better: reform
- repair, restore
- a: to free from a lien by payment of an amount secured thereby, b(1): to remove the obligation of by payment, (2): to exchange for something of value, c: to make good : fulfill
- a: to atone for : expiate, b(1): to offset the bad effect of, (2): to make worthwhile : retrieve
Source: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
What comes to mind when you hear the word, redeem?
One childhood memory immediately comes to my mind. Back in the day, I would redeem my soda bottle for a nickel at the store. I returned the bottle to be reused, recycled, and refilled again.
Another image is my mother used to redeem S and H Green Stamps. She redeemed her booklets filled with stamps for free merchandise from their catalog.
Many thoughts come to mind from my faith tradition ~ from the verses in scripture and words of hymns that tell of being redeemed ~ a price paid to free me from the wages of sin and death.
When I started this blog almost three years ago, I knew I would call it, Redeeming the Future. As I looked at the events of my life, I did not want the lean years to devour the rich years. I realized that, like me, there were others who may one day find themselves on a similar journey ~ on a difficult path filled with obstacles that obscured their hope of ever experiencing peace.
What truly comes to mind when I hear the word redeem are two powerful words that are signposts along my journey:
- HOPE: a strong belief that there is a pathway through difficult times that can bring us to a healing place; a place where we can once again know the joy of experiencing peace
- TRANSFORMATION: the decision to not be destroyed, but to be transformed by those things that seem to be quite literally more than I can bear
I am not just another Pollyanna ~ an excessively or blindly optimistic person. The message of Redeeming the Future is not a pie-in-the-sky kind of gospel. Redeeming the future does not take away the reality of the pain, loss, and disappointments of the past or the present. But that simple six-letter word ~ redeem ~ provides a new lens through which I can look back at the difficult times with hope, knowing that I can be transformed; I can become stronger in the broken places.
I love the following quote by author Maria Robinson:
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.
And that, my friend, is all about Redeeming the Future.
So, what comes to mind when YOU hear the word, redeem?
