Redeem: 19

Here's another one.
~~~
For Christmas, someone gave me a paperwhite bulb, 
sitting atop a dollop of soil, in a tiny tiny pot.

I put it on my window sill, and ignored it.

Spring Break came, and I thought it was time to plant.

So, I got a new pot and filled it with new soil. 
I went to put that bulb inside of it, and I thought: Oh no. 

The bulb was dry, crinkly, shrunken. 
The little bit of stem shooting out was brown, shriveled.

I thought: It's too late! I killed it, before it even had a chance to grow.

But I planted it anyway. I put it pretty deeply in that soil, 
only the top exposed. And I hoped for the best.

This morning, the stem shoots high and green. 
It's almost getting out of hand.
~~~
I do not know where you are today. I cannot control your decisions or tell you what you need. I won't, in point of fact.
But can I ask?

That you would plant yourself deeply in the soil,
and not just sit on top?

There is more at stake here, than a little paperwhite.

[redeem, verb: to free from what distresses or harms; to release from blame or debt; to regain possession or recover ownership; 

to convert, restore, atone; to save]

Redeem: 18

Can I tell you a story?

~~~

There was once a baby bird, tucked under the wing of a biggish bird.

The biggish bird was feeding the baby bird, and the baby bird ate hungrily, greedily even, seeking out this care.

An on-looker, a girl, a delighter in birds, looked, and thought:
How sweet! But then she looked closer. She saw that the biggish bird had eyes of evil, deepest coalest black, and that the food offered the baby bird was nothing but sugar. Unsubstantial. Deceptive, even. 

The girl sat down, afraid, and watched.

Eventually, after many many days of this embrace, the girl saw a bigger bird, just laying nearby. Wings close to the biggish bird, but not touching. Just laying. Nearby. 

The baby bird gulped down more and the evil bird winked at the girl.

The girl laid her head on the floor, and she cried.

But then, one day, as the girl looked on, the baby bird just lifted easily away the wing of the biggish bird, and walked directly around to the front of that big bird, and stopped. He looked up at the big bird. Then he stepped up on the big bird's beak, and looked into his eyes, deeply. Neither one of them said a word. They just looked at each other, as if they had known each other well before, as if this meeting up was no surprise.

And in them both, the girl saw: Trust. She saw: Regard.

The girl saw that the biggish bird had deflated to the ground, 

with Xs marked where those terrible eyes had been.

The girl stayed where she was. She kept watching.

She saw the baby bird grow, she saw his falcon eye,
his powerful wing.

She saw him flying, free, sweeping through the sky.

She saw him land on places given to him.

She watched him dip down into tankards of refreshing water,

and wing powerfully away with joy, renewal. Revived.

The growing bird didn't know the girl was in the room,

but she was. She was watching all of it, sitting to the side.

~~~

It's a good story, yes? 

Except for the ending...that ending needs some work.

[redeem, verb: to free from what distresses or harms; to release from blame or debt; to regain possession or recover ownership; 

to convert, restore, atone; to save]

Redeem: 17

Do you know that He has chosen you?
Anointed you? Called you to trial, to suffer,
to walk in the valley of the shadow of death
because He will use you and use you and use you,
His Light to shine?

Do you know that the weight of this Truth
brings me to tears so huge at the wonder of Him,
at the wonder of the 'no one could ever be against you'
because He is for you and for you and for you,
His love to know?

To declare?

He is so for you that He has brought me forward
to sit at His feet and pray what He prays
to see you as He sees you
to choose you as He chooses you.

Called I am, to be the one
to stake your claim and hold my ground
to not back down in the fight of
'no one' not one 'could ever' could ever
be against you. You beautiful man, you.

We see you. We choose you.

He will crucify your heart if you let Him,
He will break every bone you seem to have
But His commitment is to you,
shaped with His own two hands.

Because called I am, and committed too
I know this, to be True. Do you?

[redeem, verb: to free from what distresses or harms; to release from blame or debt; to regain possession or recover ownership; 

to convert, restore, atone; to save]

Redeem: 16

I love a Saturday morning, lazy to unfold.

Can you see our little cozy home,
and there's no agenda,
but warm beverages and pjs?

Think about it.

[redeem, verb: to free from what distresses or harms; to release from blame or debt; to regain possession or recover ownership; 

to convert, restore, atone; to save]

Redeem: 15

Today I came across no deep thoughts.
It happens, in case you weren't sure.

I just lived my life, made muffins,
met with friends.

It was a lovely day.
How was yours?

[redeem, verb: to free from what distresses or harms; to release from blame or debt; to regain possession or recover ownership; 

to convert, restore, atone; to save]

Redeem: 14

I did it again today: Took my sin back on myself.

Defined myself by it, resigned myself to it,
Shrugged myself into believing it truth
Until after a while--when my cloak felt arranged--
I laid myself down in the bed I had made.

When what to my wondering ears should appear?
But the Lord, our Lord, arisen and clear:

When will you take what I say instead?

He says it is done.
He says I am clean.
He says: Take it, it's yours.
He says I am free.

These cycles of fear and the fullness of shame
no longer need to win in these days.

I feel a bit beaten, a bit weary and worn,
but right now I am claiming:
This promise is ours.

[redeem, verb: to free from what distresses or harms; to release from blame or debt; to regain possession or recover ownership; 

to convert, restore, atone; to save]

Redeem: 13

Imagine, if you will,
you and me and Jesus,
standing in a triangle.
Holding hands.

Do you see between us
this sacred space?
It is ours you know;
a covenant.

I have seen the shape of it,
carved into my palm,
red and raw and nerves on end,
like our names nailed into His.

It means its safe, a place to begin
To take what is hidden and turn it over,
so the fragments heal and the brokenness ends.

We're standing at the starting line,
the one we thought we missed.
He does that.
It's who He is.

And while I'm sure He has a plan,
and though I know it's best,
what I have learned and where I live
is for the Purpose, Kingdom spread.

Challenge me on this,
and I will tell you right and straight:
I have decided, to believe.
What I have seen is not in vain.

[redeem, verb: to free from what distresses or harms; to release from blame or debt; to regain possession or recover ownership; 

to convert, restore, atone; to save]