We have built a few traditions around this place and one of them is the twenty mile boat ride to the cliffs. The cliffs are a place where people gather and you guessed it...jump. This is the place that is a reminder of what I consider a really bad parenting choice.
You see the middle child has a little bit of dare devil in him. He likes to live a little dangerously and so he begins to climb. I honestly did not think much of it except to tell him to take a life jacket. By the time I realized just how far he was willing to jump there was no turning back. It seemed like forever as he fell towards the water and I held my breath and thought...this is the dumbest decision I have ever made.
We speed to the cliffs this year and even though not one of us will be jumping my heart rate is increasing. The shear drop brings a tingle of panic every time I see it.
The actual jump was over three years ago. The middle son suffered a few bruises from hitting the water but was fine. I consider it one of the worst choices I made because of the "what ifs" that travel through my mind. As we eat our lunch I find my mind wandering those same paths...considering the terrible things that could have happened. I hear that still small voice interrupt my thoughts...
I have redeemed it.
Webster's says that redeem means to buy back, to release from blame, to change for the better...to make good.
Is it really possible that God can take those places we consider the worst and redeem them to somehow make them good or better? Isn't that the business of Jesus...to redeem?
I hear him call from somewhere up on the cliff. He has climbed to the place where he made the choice to jump...and I let him make that choice. He smiles...waves and his dad snapped the picture from below. Look closely. Do you see him...the tiny black dot among the trees.
He is not quite the dare devil he used to be. He does consider the consequences at times. He is not as fearless as he once was. Could this be a change for the better? Something redeemed in what I consider the worst. As he climbs down I determine that from now on this is no longer the place I consider worst...but a reminder that Jesus redeems.
