Take a minute and think of those closed off places that are yours and yours only. Places that are tucked away and left in the dark with the hopes that they are forgotten. A piece of your past that has a way of haunting your feelings when left alone to fester in that dark, closed off place in your heart. When you bring it to mind right now, how does it make you feel? Does it fill your heart to the point that there is little room for real life to take up residence? I would like to challenge all of us to look at the hurts, mistakes and haunted past right in the eye and then look to God to learn how He takes every bit of ugly and promises to redeem it. We are redeemed in Christ!
As God’s child, I am finding that the lesson of redemption is one of the hardest ones to wrap my brain around. I carry those hidden places deep within my heart and lock them up for safety or so I think. I follow the out of sight, out of mind mentality and hope that I can keep the past tucked away. The deep, closed off places in my heart beg to remain anonymous as if staying nameless will cause them not to exist. I turn inward in a dance that sways back and forth but never crosses the floor. On my recent vacation, the time came to look inward one last time and reach outward in a final act of letting go.
[Tweet “Closed off places in our hearts demand secrecy as if staying nameless will cause them not to exist.”]
In my world of moving on, closing off the past and masking my emotions, it was time for forgiveness and healing. The dance of life was ready to begin again and a new partner was ready to take my hand. It was time to engage in a conversation to lay my sins out in the open and ask for forgiveness. Words rushed out as tears flowed and lined the sides of my face and love filled in the gaps of my heart that were pouring forth. As my new dance partners surrounded me in a hug, prayer flowed from the mouths of the ones I loved the most as my heart cracked open and the past tumbled out. The beautiful prayer wrapped around me and spoke of God’s promise of redemption. Three beautiful thoughts intertwined with each other as God’s words and endless grace became the prayer.
Redeemed in Christ
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. Ephesians 1:7
A new creation
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:17-18
Love
You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
abounding in love to all who call to you. Psalm 86:5
This quote speaks volumes of who we are as children of God, but He erases the scars as we become His new creation. Jesus’ scars from the nails and His selfless act of dying on the cross for us is our redemption. We need not keep a strangle hold on the past because God has promised us a new life in Him. We are new and the past is past and our life in Christ is now stretched out before us. I pray we may all feel like a new creation in Christ where we are not identified by our past but a child of God with a beautiful future.
[Tweet “Our redemption in Christ was not meant to be hoarded, but is a gift to set free in others.”]
On this particular day on vacation, I was blessed with the gift of being redeemed in Christ. Forgiveness and love came together and allowed a piece of my past to be erased. My loved ones shared this gift of redemption with me. Our redemption in Christ was not meant to be hoarded but is a gift that we have the responsibility to set free in the lives of others.
May our redemption cleanse us of the past we hold onto so tightly and free us to be the new creation we are promised as God’s children.
In grace and peace,
Mary
Blessed to find community at these beautiful homes!
Oh Mary, this is so, SO good. Those hidden places remain in darkness until we open ourselves up to God and let His light shine to scatter the darkness. In the class my husband and I teach we talk about “the secret that you vowed to take to the grave.” There is never more freedom than when it is exposed and Satan’s lies no longer have power over you.
On another note, your Five Minute Friday retreat is in a few days and I pray that all the last minute details fall into place, that you and the other leaders can take a deep breath of God’s Spirit before you begin and that you will be amazed by what He does among you over the course of the weekend.
Blessings to you dear friend,
Patti
Your words just blessed my socks off this morning when I first read them. The retreat is just a few days away and there are a lot of last minute details that we are trying to pull together. I shared your sweet words with the rest of the planning team and they felt the same as I did.
I also appreciate your encouraging words about my post. I love how God is working through your husband and you as you teach a class that will reveal secrets and I wrote how God is working on me. Your post about forgiveness was powerful. Praying that this week is full of moments of God working in and through you.
Amen, we are redeemed!
I couldn’t say that enough.
How are you Mary? been a little while.
Keep well friend.
Precious blessings to you
Oh Mary, the thought of those tears flowing from you breaks my heart, but I know they were cleansing and necessary. I’m glad you found so much peace, freedom, and beautiful support through your recent trip.
I can so relate to past mistakes and the need to let them go. I’ve grown a great deal in this area over the past few years, but there are still some I seem to refuse to let go of. Those that still hurt my heart to think about. Hopefully I’ll be following your inspiring lead very soon. I love you dearly, my friend!
Candace – I believe God is preparing your heart right now to let Him in completely. When the time is right, He will let you know. I pray that you are surrounded by loved ones as you surrender all to God and let Him heal all the broken places. So glad you shared these sweet words and joined me here.
Wow, Mary, it sounds as if the conference you went to did some “deep sea fishing” and pulled up a whopper for you! But thankfully, the body of Christ was there to surround you in this moment. I have a friend who has a “scar” that I believe is beautiful because she was faithful to God even as she was scarred by another’s choices. She still struggles to see it that way, but I know in time God will reveal “her story” for the beautiful redemption He has made it to be. I think that’s probably very true for your story as well, my friend. I’m so glad you had that amazing watershed moment among loving friends. God is so good! Love ya, girlfriend … and so glad to see my prayers were answered about your blog being up and running again too!
So glad my blog didn’t stay down too long. Glad you persevered and came back to visit me. I am blessed by loved ones who love me well and are full of God’s grace in my brokenness. When you are surrounded by this kind of love, you see how beautifully God works through others. I know that all of our scars are beautiful when we surrender them to God and let Him heal the hurt. Thank you for your friendship and amazing encouragement.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this!! Such beautiful words, I can relate to all of it! Thank you for sharing Mary!
Thank you Lanette for being here and for your sweet words. I am blessed by community who loves well and opens up their hearts to each other. Happy almost weekend!
So many joyful thoughts and words are a jumbled mess in my brain, but two things come very clearly to me, and they are both scripture that have set me free.
The first involves your reference to 2 Corinthians 5:17 (which happens to be one of my SSMT verses). I love the “absoluteness” about it…the past is dead and gone! We are brand new! Until a recent conversation with Daniel, I had been leaving it at that, not realizing that I was missing another brilliant treasure just before it in verse 16.
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.”
It made me stop in my tracks. The “therefore” in verse 17 means we ought to backtrack! When we do, we can see clearly that Christ died for all (v14), and knowing that he was resurrected on the third day, that ensured our redemption from our sins. That’s why Paul says “we regard no one from a worldly point of view.” This, to me, means I need to choose to not see people in light of all the bad things they have done or to hold grudges against them or even as a dirty person… But instead, I choose to see them as a beautifully broken person in need of grace, just as much as I need grace. Because God has indeed given us “the ministry of reconciliation”, we get to be his ambassadors (18&20). Hallelujah, we get to live life new!
The other verse is less complicated to understand 🙂 It’s from Luke 7:36-50, specifically verse 47:
“Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven–for she loved much.”
Simply put, I love much because I have been forgiven much. I’m reminded of that sweet story as I read this blog. 🙂 Thank you so much, Sweet Mary, for letting the Spirit work through you and produce a beautiful story! I love you!
My heart is full because you took the time to affirm my story as well as teach me that redemption is a one and done proposition. As hard as it is for me at times to completely surrender we have been made a new creation in Christ Jesus. I love how you describe us as beautifully broken people in need of grace. I go back often to ask for grace for myself and this is the perfect example that if I am seeking grace others are doing the same. Extending that grace in the name of Jesus is our gift to share with others. Thank you for loving this beautifully broken person – me!!!
Mary- This is so beautiful and moving. What a blessing it must have been for your loved ones to witness such grace- and nothing is more beautiful than a repentant heart surrendering to God’s mercy. Your testimony encourages me to continue to offer those secret places to Him. Thanks for sharing! Loved it.
It is so hard to open up, offer and let go. I am under the belief that of course it is easier to hold onto the past that I have stuffed away. I appreciate you saying that you are encouraged to seek redemption for your secret places. I am praying for both of us that when we offer those secrets to God and ask for forgivingness that we know without a doubt we are His new creation and the past remains the past. Blessed by you and your encouragement today.
Great post, Mary! It’s also great to be with you at #TellHisStory! 🙂
Thank you Lydia! I love that you stopped by here today. Hope your week has been wonderful!
Mary, What a beautiful post, sharing your heart and God’s healing.
The Lord collects our tears in a bottle. It’s interesting that He “collects” them because that indeed indicates that He has not forgotten our tears, but indeed will redeem them.
Thank you for sharing your redemption story. How blessed you are to have ministering angels all around you to lift you up on your journey.
Blessed you left these encouraging words, Karen! I love how you described how God collects our tears in a bottle but does not forget them. He is ever present and ever forgiving and we are so blessed. God is never finished with us and He shows me this over and over through those who love me and surround me in community. Thank you for being here and for being in community with me.
Thank you Mary. This devotional came at just the right time. I have just finished a study with friends and our sermon this weekend both tie into what you spoke of. Thank you for sharing your story and opening up to all of us about the gift of redemption.
Your words truly blessed me! What sweet encouragement. Grateful to know that Weigel brought us together for this! Thank you friend! Hope the rest of your week is blessed!
Redeemed. Could there be a more compelling invitation, a warmer welcome, a deeper sigh of gratitude?
Beautiful.
Thanks, Mary.
There could not be a deeper sigh of gratitude! That is exactly what it felt like. Thank you for describing it so well. God met me in the middle of the Smoky Mountains and taught me about redemption. Blessed by your friendship and love!
Hi Mary- So grateful for that redemption! Thanks for linking up with the #RaRaLinkup, we are glad YOU are there.
Thank you Katie! I love that you hosted the linkup today. May your week be blessed and may God show you that you are beautiful and loved in His eyes.
Mary, this is such a beautiful message! Bless you for sharing such powerful words! Grateful to have visited with you today! Peace and many blessings to you, Love! 🙂
I am so glad you stopped by today Tai! Thank you for your kind words. God loves your encouraging heart. Blessings for a beautiful week!
Mary, what wonderful words of life! Beth Moore said in the Esther Bible study…”you cannot amputate your history from your destiny…that’s what redemption is…” Many blessings to you ❤️
I love that quote from Beth Moore. She shares so much wisdom and those are words that I want to remember. I love having you here Beth and I pray that your week is full of blessings! Thank you for your encouragement.
This is wonderful. I still struggle with all those hidden places, but I am learning to surrender! Thank you for your vulnerability today!
I love seeing you here Kaylie! Believe me when I say I have more hidden places but I am slowly learning how to surrender it all and not look back once I have release it to God. I am praying blessings on your week friend!