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Reclaiming My Time

Okay...so the phrase "reclaiming my time" has become an internet sensation since Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) uttered it several times during Sec. Mnuchin's testimony on July 27, 2017. If you haven't seen it, please take a moment to do so.

Trust me, I enjoyed that immensely...and then I started thinking about the spiritual aspect of that statement. My most recent blog post Perfect Progression got a lot of reactions. Most of them were positive. A few people contacted me privately to share their own stories and/or ask questions. The thing people wanted most to know was how I was able to forgive myself.

Before the Maxine Waters video, I did not have the phrase for it. Now I do. I reclaimed my time. The Lord showed me in His word (Ephesians 5:15-17) that the time I wasted being devoted to the wrong person had to be reclaimed and more importantly, that I shouldn't waste more time beating myself up for what was already done.

See, what I learned was that God gets no glory from continuous self-condemnation. In fact, there is no possibility of a person being productive for the kingdom of God when s/he wallows in self-pity and self-condemnation. This is not to say that we ought to be proud of our misdeeds and trespasses. Rather, it is the simple acceptance that we have transgressed, repentance for the transgression, and then letting God's grace and mercy restore us. After restoration, it is time to reclaim (or redeem) the time.

What does reclaiming the time look like? For me, it meant that I had to use my experience to be a cautionary tale to other similarly situated young women. It meant using the pain of the aftermath to encourage people who are going through their own hell. It meant being more understanding and gracious to people who have made their own mistakes.

Reclaiming my time has been inconvenient for me. I have had to be vulnerable in ways that I would rather avoid. I have had to lay my life bare before other individuals just to explain that I can empathize with them. And still, reclaiming my time has been the most rewarding period in my Christian journey.

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