Blast From the Past – REDEEMING S&H Green Stamps

Most of you youngsters won't remember S&H Green Stamps, but my peers will remember when we’d receive them at the check-out counter of supermarkets, department stores and gasoline stations. S&H Green Stamps were used as reward programs at merchants from the 1930s to late 1980s. I well remember collecting as many books of 1200 stamps as possible because that would mean a new appliance or household item that we selected from a catalog and REDEEM our books for the item that we worked diligently to get.

REDEEM: to buy back, to get or win back, to free from captivity by payment of a ransom, to release from debt, to remove the obligation of payment, to exchange for something of value.

I heard the story of a young woman who found herself suddenly “un-engaged” three weeks before her engagement pictures were scheduled to be taken. It was too late to cancel the photography session, so she went ahead and had a solo shoot done at Disneyland and the photos were published and went viral. But even more remarkable than the photos, was her attitude. She described the day: "It honestly couldn't have been a more beautiful experience, and I was filled with the peace and comfort that only comes from above. I'm so glad I decided to go through with the photos, and more importantly, I'm so grateful for the smallest acts of daily kindness that make all the difference in a broken world." She REDEEMED her pain for beauty and gratitude.

That story reminded me of my own daughter’s heartbreak in her early 20s after a broken relationship. As difficult that it was for her in that season, all of the tragedy was REDEEMED and used for good because it turned her heart to faith in God and service to others as she established her “Cinderella” ministries. She recorded “Cinderella: Dreams Do Come True” song that touched so many lives. I’ll give you the link at the end of this post. She created the Pledge for Purity program that taught the beauty of chastity before marriage and went across the U.S. and Canada speaking to young people about the beauty of purity. There was further REDEMPTION, as she later wore that gorgeous dress, with the addition of North Carolina’s state flower, the flowering dogwood, in the Mrs. America Pageant as Mrs. North Carolina.

Isaiah 61:3 says, "I will give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." Isn't it beautiful that God says He will give us beauty for ashes? There is a redemption plan here. We give Him our ashes and in return, He gives us His beauty. Everybody has wounds; everybody has ashes--and all kinds of them. Those ashes look like rejection, a job loss, a miscarriage, a divorce, an illness, a loss of a loved one, and as my friends in South Texas -- the loss of a home. Ashes happen every place and to everyone.

In both of the girl's testimonies I mentioned above, it is obvious that tragedy can be REDEEMED for beauty AND I personally know that we grow from our experiences – good and bad. That’s WHY God REDEEMS challenges – by using them to show us our need of Him. In that way, we can count ourselves blessed when we face challenges. Jesus taught us “Blessed are those who know their need of God.” (Matthew 5:3).

Whatever it is that is overwhelming in your life today, gather it all up and put it in a safe place of remembrance, because, I assure you – REDEMPTION Day is coming where you’ll trade it in for beauty. Hold on, my child, joy WILL come in the morning!

http://staciwallace.com/cinderella/