Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: REDEEM (03/03/22)
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TITLE: One Ticket | Previous Challenge Entry
By Laurie Bahlke
03/08/22 -
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“Well honey, the carnival is almost over, and you can’t get much
with one ticket.
Someone probably lost it and it’s a bummer, but it will probably
go unused.
We need to get going, Julia.
I think dinner is almost ready.
You had a fun time today, right?”
“Yeah, it was fun…uh, can I keep it, Dad?”
She could tell by the way he tilted his head, that his first inclination was to say ‘no’, but then he shifted his head again, and slowly nodded, “Sure, I don’t know why not.”
Julia remembered this day. Not because of the school carnival and the fun they had but because her dad let her keep the ticket and had kissed her forehead. She placed it in her jewelry box and looked at it often.
Soon, the single ticket evolved into a collection and by the time she was fifteen, Julia had almost thirty, worn, faded tickets mostly in colors of red and blue. She had learned the correct pronunciation of the word “redeem” and what it meant. Her collection felt like a rescue of would-be moments from being tossed into the garbage or pushed into the ground by the soles of people who were too busy to notice.
Before she graduated, Julia counted out the tickets with her parents as they talked about her future. Twelve more tickets had been added to her collection and she kept them contained by a single rubber band. Her parents asked her again, why she kept them.
Julia reminded her father that she found the first ticket when she was with him at the carnival. “I was five, and mom was tired from chemotherapy and couldn’t be there, remember? I know it was just a dumb ticket, but it made me feel like things would be okay.” Both of her parents teared up. Finally, they understood what she couldn’t put into words.
Years later, Julia would give the tickets to people who needed a hand, hope, and often, both. She would place a ticket in their hand and close it up tightly. “You are loved”, she would say. “God chooses you. You are not lost to Him, and He has not discarded you. He gave His life for you and this little ticket is a reminder of that and so much more.”
When she was eighty-two, Julia made her last trip to the community carnival. As the carnival drew to a close, she spied one last ticket and with a smile on her lips, mouthed the word “reh-dem.” She knew people were still in need of hope. The world was full of hurting souls desperate for a reminder of God’s lasting love and redemption. Her granddaughter once asked how many tickets she had given away.
Julia shook her head,
“I honestly don’t know, but it’s been quite a few.
You know, I could use a helper.
What do you think?
Can you spot the worn, faded tickets and be present in a moment to
share God’s love?”
“What would I say?” asked Sophie.
“The right words will come to you, dear.
Just be sure to look the recipient in the eye and squeeze their
hand.
A gesture of love is all they need.
Jesus will heal and restore the rest.”
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45 NIV)
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