Through

Our eldest loves Build-A-Bear Workshop.

Loves it.

It is on every Christmas, birthday, celebration wish list.  It is a must stop when we go to the mall.  It was the first gift she gave her little sister.  So special!

She has her pad of paper with lists of outfits, accessories, smells, sounds, etc. along with prices on her almost anytime we go out to run errands – in case we stop by.

A few months ago we attempted to take advantage of the Build-A-Bear “Pay Your Age” sale.  I mean what a deal right?

Notice I said attempted, for when we showed up, 30 minutes before store opening, we were already too late.

I could see the crushed look on my eldest’s face as she recognized what she was looking at (in addition to her anxiety levels rising at such a crowded experience).

This wasn’t going to happen today.

While I was ready to turn right around and walk out the door, I asked if the kids wanted to see just how long the line was – so we did.  The line went down the entire length of the mail, outside the mall and wrapped around the side of the building.  As we walked through the crowd, listening to crying anxious children, we talked about the experience and if we even thought there were enough bears in the store for all these people.

the crowd right outside the store – line continues down the mall…

When we got to the outside door, with still the length of the outside line to walk, I noticed a representative handing out vouchers to those in line – even they recognized they wouldn’t have enough stock for the crowd.

I grabbed our 3 vouchers for $15 off, still working on consoling our eldest who consistently battles with dual emotions and every “loss” triggers all the casualty she has already faced in her 13 years. (Thankfully she had a therapy appointment later that day and I had already prepped them with the experience of the morning.)

A few weeks later when we returned to the store we were able to redeem our vouchers for some very special new friends and it got me thinking about redemption.

Things have been exceptionally hard these past couple of weeks (notice I didn’t post a blog last week).

Gained ground seems lost, trauma memories seem stronger than ever, trust keeps getting broken, hope seems to be only a whisper.

But that whisper repeats in the faintest of heartbeats – REDEMPTION.

Of the many redemptive stories of the Bible, which one is your favorite?

Noah, Abraham and Isaac, Exodus and the People of Israel, Ruth, the Lost Sheep, the Prodigal Son, Saul of Tarsus, and others?

Ultimately, God’s story is that of redemption – our redemption.  The buying back, the freedom from, the change for the better, the restoring of, the atonement for, the rescuing of – redemption.

I may have read this somewhere, but it struck me again – one of God’s favorite words must be through; God gets people through stuff.  Through the Red Sea onto dry ground (Ex 14:22), through the wilderness (Deut. 29:5), through the valley of the shadow of death (Ps. 23:4).

This process of through seems to be how we experience God’s redemption.

Yet, at rock bottom, how do we know this redemption?  Do we trust it is there? Do we believe it will happen for us?

I am sure many of you are in your own through period.

I know I am.  And honestly, it sucks.

It is hard.

It is scary.

It is overwhelming.

It seems to have no end.

The pain and disappointment seem unbearable.

And yet…

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.”  (Isa. 43:2)

Our story is redeemed – already.  Maybe the through is really a celebration of this fact, this truth.  If I can grab ahold of that, maybe I can find strength or have a sense of peace in this through of mine.

Can you hear the whisper of redemption in your through?