Oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble.
Psalm 107:1-2 (ESV)
Forget being redeemed from trouble because I don’t want trouble to begin with. Especially as a child, I longed for happiness and perfection.
I was drawn to TV shows like The Waltons, Andy Griffith, and My Three Sons. I craved the comfort, hope and security they offered. Books such as the All-of-a-Kind Family series, and the Judy Bolton Mystery Series met the same need. They were a Sunday roast, mashed potatoes with gravy, and three fingerfuls of buttercream frosting all between well-worn pages.
Fiction proved I could grow up and have a different life.
Now, I’m wiser. I’m drawn to the fiction that shows redemption. No one gets happiness and perfection—except in rare, short bursts. Hope and security come from the knowledge that we can be redeemed from trouble.
My current favorite authors—Gary Schmidt, Mary Amato, Katherine Paterson and Gordon Korman—show what a life redeemed from trouble looks like, and it is good.
Oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good.
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