{"id":29164,"date":"2021-10-25T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-25T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/?p=29164"},"modified":"2021-10-25T04:52:05","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T08:52:05","slug":"once-upon-a-time-redemption-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/once-upon-a-time-redemption-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"Once Upon a Time: Redemption Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
\r\n
\"Once<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It\u2019s high time we celebrated stories of rescue and redemption.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Stories of when loss turned to gain, darkness turned to light, true hope won over hopelessness, and overcomers sang a victory song.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In the past, my story stayed secret in a young girl\u2019s heart, not wanting to share it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But it\u2019s when we share our stories that they help others have the ability to heal us and make us brave souls armed with courage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A release my soul has always needed. Perhaps, yours too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Still, I used to struggle to tell the world, Once upon a time lived a girl<\/em>. So, I avoided recounting my story\u2014reminiscent of my rough start to life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

My untidy announcement to the world fell short of a glorious celebration. Baby twin girls made their grand entrance early.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But the early bird doesn\u2019t always get the worm. About to give birth, my mother took a taxi to the hospital alone, not knowing the whereabouts of her husband, my dad.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Two babies shocked everyone including the doctor. For several days, my father remained unaware he had twins\u2014before he saw me and held me.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

All three pounds and nine ounces of me laid in a neonatal incubator. Innocence wrapped in a hospital blanket with no clue of the other<\/em> brokenness lurking nearby.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Transformation Stories<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Empty places waited for me as if they considered themselves my friends. Unwelcome companions hoping to walk alongside me through life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

While monitors tracked my vitals, someone else behind the scenes kept watch over my heart. The heavenly Father saw me, knew me, and held me close\u2014aware of everything about me.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Unbeknownst to me, God continued to stay near throughout my childhood. He desired to become my welcomed companion. And to one day rescue and transform me from hurt to hope, from lack to bounty, from lost to found, and from void to occupied.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Genuine transformations occur when we lay down the lie that it\u2019s okay to go without what matters most.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I realized few people, if any, had a perfect start to life. Like the saying, \u201cIt isn\u2019t where you came from; it\u2019s where you\u2019re going that counts.\u201d \u2014 Ella Fitzgerald<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

New Beginnings<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

That\u2019s never truer than with less-than-perfect starts in life. Those we almost never celebrated. What follows our beginning, how we process it, and where we go next helps us thrive today.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But attempts to restart our own life and recover from lack can lead us down the wrong paths. The direction we head is important to the outcome.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We must be willing to make any necessary U-turns to land somewhere solid\u2014the places God leads us as He positions us for a fresh start.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

My new start came when I allowed my Heavenly Father to rescue me and fill in every gap someone or something failed to fill.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Celebrating Stories<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n
\"Once<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

So now I celebrate and embrace my story.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Because the Lord rescued, redeemed, and gave new life to a young girl. Then, He began to rewrite her story. And I\u2019m ready to tell the world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Friend, if you experienced a less-than-desirable beginning in life or endured empty places in childhood or adulthood, I hope you know Jesus as Rescuer and have a redemption story.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

And I hope you celebrate your story of rescue and redemption with a victory song or dance\u2014whatever matches your style.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Since no merriment ever sparkled without gifts, presents await us. Some of us searched for these gifts our entire life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

God waited for us to realize how much He wanted to gift them to us, and how they already belonged to us from day one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Oh, how the Lord beckons us to unwrap\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Gift of Rescue<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cFor he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves\u201d (Colossians 1:13 NIV).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Jesus \u201cgave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father\u201d (Galatians 1:4 ESV).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Gift of Redemption<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cIn him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace\u201d (Ephesians 1:7 ESV).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cChrist redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us\u2014for it is written, \u2018Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree\u2019\u201d (Galatians 3:13 ESV).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Gift of New life<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cFor God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life\u201d (John 3:16 ESV).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cThe thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly\u201d (John 10:10 ESV).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n
\"Once<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Cue the music and let the party begin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Do you share and celebrate your story of rescue and redemption?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Also see: Saving Power in the Blood of Jesus.<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Featured photo by Alex Geerts<\/a> on Unsplash\/<\/a>Top photo by Thought Catalog<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>\/Middle\u00a0photo by Alisa Anton<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>\/Bottom photo by Debby Hudson<\/a> on Unsplash.<\/a><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s high time we celebrated stories of rescue and redemption. Stories of when loss turned to gain, darkness turned to light, true hope won over hopelessness, and overcomers sang a victory song. In the past,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":29173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1551],"tags":[4936,67,2074,1949,2394,2931,4934,4935],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nOnce Upon a Time: Redemption Stories - Inspire A Fire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s high time we celebrated stories of rescue and redemption: when loss turned to gain, darkness turned to light and true hope won.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/once-upon-a-time-redemption-stories\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Once Upon a Time: Redemption Stories - 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