The title of this site is something that God placed in my heart several years ago, but it wasn’t until the eve of my 35th birthday that I actually looked up the definition of “whitewash”.
– a deliberate attempt to concealment of someone’s mistakes or faults in order to clear their name. (definition from Google dictionary)
When I first heard the term “whitewashed redemption” in my heart, it accompanied a vision that repeated itself frequently and helped me move forward in life, and walk free of condemnation. In those moments of looking back, reflecting on all of my bad choices and letting myself living in regret-mode, I would see myself standing next to Jesus, and with every step I took, there was a waterfall of white that followed just a few inches behind my feet. My past was still there, but it had all been bleached of color, stood as a bright white canvas with figures along the timeline that were hardly recognizable. This was my reminder that there was no point in starring at the past, and my reminder that the Lord had forgiven me and I was required to forgive myself.
But the definition of whitewash that pertains to concealing someone’s mistakes and fault to clear their name also is my story. I have determined not to try and dump a novels worth of history into this blog, that will all come with time, but needless to say there was was a time when I saw no way out, and yet the Lord and His supernatural whitewash made a way. I was able to walk away from a situation I was very much at fault for, and one that left a lot of people still hurting, and I was given a chance at a fresh start; a fresh start that would not be squandered. The Lord made a way for me to move across the country and into the home of someone who is now my dearest friend without question and without condition. My mistakes had been whitewashed and I moved into a new season of life with a clear name.
It was however only after truly surrendering my life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ that any of this was possible. I had only known Jesus as Savior prior to that time, and the idea of Lordship, while present was deeply tainted with incorrect doctrine and deceit. Walking truly surrendered in every area of my life, up to the point of selling my possessions, quitting my job and moving across the nation without answers to what waited there; it was only then that my whitewash truly happened. This does not mean that all of the people I have left behind have somehow forgotten my sin, or that I have concealed it from the people I now know and love. What this does mean is that God has chosen to “remember my sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:34) and that the people I now know and love are able to process my past as the testimony it is.
If you don’t know my story, I am sorry to tell you, but you won’t hear it all here. I have determined that this is not yet the place or time for that novel-worthy tale. What I will give you instead are glimpses of my testimony, and the unfolding story of my life live with Jesus.
Jeremiah 31:34
Whitewashed Redemption 