Grace & Redemption

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Grace is a word I've used to define my life. By "grace," I mean God's unbelievable gift of forgiveness despite my unworthiness. It took me a long time to truly wrap my mind around God's grace. It wasn't until my early 30's that I completely let go of the guilt and shame I'd carried with me up until that point. Although I had been a Christian for awhile at that point, I hadn't released everything to Him. As much as I loved the Lord and had faith in Him, I was still holding onto several aspects of my life; I went with His Will only when it was my will and for some unexplainable reason, I just couldn't let go of that guilt and shame. Although the circumstances that caused that shame were so painful, I'd lived with that pain so long that it had become a part of me. It wasn't until the months following John's accident that I poured myself into prayer and scripture in a way I never had before. During that time, God convicted my heart so much that I slowly released my firm grasp on my guilt and shame. I AM a child of God and God loves me NO MATTER what. My sins died with Christ on that cross and I've been washed white as snow, as long as I'm willing to receive it. Wow! How sweet it is to rest in His grace!

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. Ephesians 1:7

Around my mid 30's a new word started to define my life. That word is redemption. God's redemption didn't replace His grace, rather, it complimented it. As you see from the verse above in Ephesians, grace and redemption go hand-in-hand. I know God's redeeming love has always been with me, but around that time in my life, the circumstances of that period of my life gave redemption a whole new meaning to me. I was walking through another "growth spurt," in other words, I was going through a difficult time where God was molding me and growing my faith. Some of the things I had began to "expect" to always be there for me, were being moved around and even some were being completely removed from my life. I'm sure many of you can relate to how uncomfortable it is to be removed from your "comfort zone." That's when God's sweet redemption was poured out on me. Our God is a REDEEMER and whatever He takes from us is for our own good and He is ALWAYS faithful to redeem and ALWAYS gives back in great measure. In my case, I count everything I lost as well worth all He gave back to me because of my faith and obedience to His call on my life.

Now, back to my early 30's, as I accepted God's grace, I made a decision that marked me permanently......literally! I had the word "grace" tattooed on my abdomen. So, now the question lingers......do I now add the word "redeemed?"