Redemption Stories and Sister-Friends
Redemption Stories and Sister-Friends
What’s your redemption story?
This month, we’ve been focusing on stories, writing, sharing, living, and reading them. One of my favorite summer stories is one of redemption, pretty birds and bird poop, and authentic sisterhood.
The story I remembered involves three moms I have shared stories with for over 20 years. We have walked together through both pretty bird and poopy bird stories and seen God’s redemption story working through them all. I pray this simple story compels you to share your stories in community as a radical reminder of God’s wild and glorious ways.
My Redemption Story Part 1: Pretty Birds
Early on a humid Saturday morning, I was enjoying a vigorous workout walk on the beach with these three dear sister-friends.
Conversation meandered from the mundane,
“I wonder if it will rain later,”
to the musing and a-musing:
“How did we go from discussing diapers to dating without any signs of personal aging:)…?”
Sister-friend one spotted a flock of birds in formation and practically clapped her hands in delight at God’s creation, “Look how pretty the birds are!”
My Redemption Story, Part 2: Bird Poop
And I said….
I said…
Yes, well, I’m ashamed to say, I said…
“Until they poop on you.”
Yes, that’s what I said. I don’t know what came over me. Well, I sort of do.
One kind sister-friend burst into laughter and remonstrated gently, “ELIZABETH!!”
With her response, I too wondered at myself. Why would I rain so liberally on my first sister-friend’s delight? What was with me?
Redemption Story Part 3: Seeking Truth in Community
Though it was sort of a silly moment, I could not shake it from my mind. God had been tugging at me lots about my cynicism and negativity. I felt alternately sad and shocked at my remark. The memory of the moment followed me for the rest of the day.
Later that night, I was talking with one of these stalwart sister-friends who had the grace to be shocked at my cynicism. We were discussing our fierce desire to put our toxic-tongue-disease behind us.
I said, “It’s like the comment I made this morning. It seems like God is frequently revealing this tendency toward negativity.”
She explained, “What struck me about it is that you are NOT a negative person. I don’t think of you as cynical. It just seemed so out of character.”
With Spirit-prodding words, the Father urges me, “Live in and out of your redemption, my dear daughter. Click To TweetAnd together we wondered about it. She’s right. My nature is to be an encourager. But I do have a long streak of cynicism and a sin-natural bent toward criticism in me.
God is knocking on my door, saying, “Enough.” With frequency, the Holy Spirit sneaks up on me and shines the light on my sin and shouts, “That’s not who you really are!”
I am grateful. Grateful for the Holy Spirit who grabs my heart when I envision ugliness like bird poop dropping on a happy day. Grateful for friends who say, “But that’s not who you are…”
And most grateful for an odd God who sometimes in fact does allow bird-poop to drop on a sweet girl enjoying a sunny day in the park.
One good redemption story leads to another…
For indeed, part of what I was thinking about when I made my poopy comment was of something that had happened recently to my daughter.
She was in London for a Serge internship. Enjoying a sunny day sitting under a tree, she was sadly surprised when a bird rained on her parade. Somehow, my delightful daughter found a way to laugh at the insanity of it all! In fact, it led to an opportunity to share the gospel! But that’s another story – and it’s hers to tell!
Photo Credit: Frank McKenna, Unsplash
![When’s the last time you highlighted your weakness?
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Cor. 12:10
All-Powerful God,
We confess,
we in Western culture
crave power, control, and independence.
The last thing we want
is to be seen as weak.
And yet, weakness is the way of Christ,
so it must be our way as well.
The apostle Paul understood that,
so in the face of accusations
that he wasn’t an apostle,
he countered the boasting of the “super-apostles”
with some boasting of his own:
“If I must boast,
I will boast of the things
that show my weakness” (2 Cor. 11:30).
And then he mentions how he was lowered in a basket through the window of a wall in Damascus, of all places,
a place he went to persecute Jews only to be knocked down on the road,
struck blind, by his Lord and Savior himself.
Paul shares many other weaknesses in 2 Corinthians,
a book that’s all about weakness as the way
of followers of Christ.
He asked that you would relieve him from a “thorn in the flesh,”
but you did not.
Instead, you said,
“My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in your weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).
Lord, we know we really are weak —
[for each of these areas, name any weaknesses you have]
weak in our bodies,
weak in our work,
weak in our wills,
Weak in our faith,
Weak in our hope,
Weak in our love.
We believe
that you your power is made perfect
in and through our weakness.
Help our unbelief.
In Jesus’s name. Amen.
Read 2 Corinthians 11:30-12:10.
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