Return (32 page)

A WORD FROM KAREN KINGSBURY

  M
OST OF YOU
have read
Redemption
and
Remember
, the first two books in the Redemption Series, so you know how the series got its start. But in case you’re new with us, here’s how it happened. When Gary Smalley contacted me about writing fiction based on his relational teachings, I was thrilled. When he said, “Think series,” I went blank.

For weeks I prayed about the series, asking God to show me a group of plots that would best exemplify the kind of love taught and talked about by Gary Smalley and the staff at the Smalley Relationship Center.

Ideas would come, but they seemed too small for something as big and life-changing as the dream Gary and I had come to share. Then one day on a flight home from Colorado Springs, God gave me the Redemption Series—titles, plots, characters, themes, story lines. All of it poured onto my notebook while goose bumps flashed up and down my spine.

The basic heart and direction of the series remain true to that early vision. However, as the Baxter family has come to life, their problems have changed and adapted to fit their personalities, and certainly to fit the landscape of events happening around them.

Our initial view of Ashley, for instance, didn’t include her turning up HIV positive. But much of what we intend to do with the Redemption Series is illustrate the consequences of relational choices. And for Ashley, this is one very realistic consequence to her time in Paris.

We had no idea that the attacks on America would change our world on September 11, 2001, and those of you who read
Remember
know how those events changed the direction of the Redemption Series and the lives of the characters. The same way those events in some way changed all of us.

Luke Baxter was, from the beginning, the good son. But we discovered something about Luke in the first book of the series—his goodness was untested, his faith shallow and superficial. After September 11, he led the way in determining the strange turns his life would take. Really, as the writer, I merely followed along trying to keep up and allowing God to use him to teach the lessons you’ve seen come to life in
Return.

Think about Luke back in the beginning of this series. Cocksure, judgmental, certain that his charmed life was the direct result of his good living. Ah, but how quickly such a fragile faith collapses when trials come. Sometimes such a one goes through years—decades—of pain before returning to the skeletal remains of a faith forgotten.

You may know someone like that. A friend or brother. A lost son or daughter. If so, I pray that you’ve seen a glimpse of God’s faithfulness between the lines of
Return.
Yes, Elizabeth Baxter was right. God is the Hound of Heaven…always pursuing, seeking, anxious to restore, desperate to redeem.

In some ways Luke’s story illustrates the theme of the series—redemption. God wants to redeem all of us—whether we’ve strayed from a phony faith or never believed in the first place. Remember Jesus? He was the one who told the story about the lost sheep, how a shepherd might have a hundred sheep, but if one strays he’d leave the ninety-nine to find it.

Wasn’t that John Baxter’s heart?

No matter that Maddie was well or Ashley was selling her paintings in New York City, his thoughts were with his son. Funny thing, we didn’t intend for
Return
to be a modern-day look at the prodigal son story, but that’s what it became. And it’s where many of you are now.

Either running away from the Hound of Heaven, or praying for someone who is.

At the same time,
Return
showed us that we cannot fully come back to the people we love without first returning to the God who paid for our redemption.

Along another plotline,
Return
allowed you to see Kari and Ryan marry, promising to live their lives for God first and each other, second. A few of you were frustrated after reading
Remember,
disappointed to see that Kari and Ryan hadn’t married in that book. But grief comes at a cost. Time is needed to heal the wounds of loss, and a rushed commitment—no matter how wonderful—is not usually the answer.

Kari and Ryan heeded God’s leading in their walk with him and each other—and as a result their wedding was longer coming than some would’ve liked. I hope that by now you’ve agreed that their big day was worth the wait.

I was talking to my 14-year-old daughter, Kelsey, the other day, and she expressed some of the impatience we all feel at times. For Kelsey it was impatience over braces and boys and knowing that her season for love and relationships is far down the road yet. Our discussion gave me the chance to give Kelsey a word picture.

Imagine the last wedding banquet or dinner party you attended. Often before the food is set out, the staff places garnishes of endive lettuce along the white-linen-covered serving tables. How silly would it be to arrive at the banquet and find yourself so impatient for the meal that you settle for the garnish?

Wilted lettuce or a banquet?

Doesn’t seem like a contest, does it? But sometimes in our rush for what we want, we’re willing to settle for the garnish instead of God’s best. In
Return,
we saw Kari waiting and how wonderful it was, how rewarding for her and Ryan to know that they handled everything about their relationship the way God wanted them to handle it.

Again, normally I don’t leave my readers wondering what will happen to my characters. And though
Return
offers some answers, clearly it also raises many questions. Questions about Ashley and Landon, and if you read the first chapter of
Rejoice
…questions about Brooke’s family.

What will become of Ashley and her precarious health? Will she find a way to stay with Landon, or will she feel compelled to release him? And what about the dear people at Sunset Hills Adult Care Home? Will Ashley stay with them, and if so, will Irvel continue her downhill slide into poorer health?

Brooke and Peter are struggling—that much is clear. But why, and how will their fledgling faith be affected if they’re visited by tragedy? How will John and Elizabeth play a role in the next season of the lives of their children?

And most of all, how will God continue to work redemption in the lives of this single Indiana family?

As much as I’d like to answer those questions, I cannot. God is still working the story, making it breathe and grow and change with the characters in a way that he directs. The stories that will come in Book 4
(Rejoice)
and book 5
(Reunion)
are written across the tablet of my heart, but not yet on the printed page. As soon as they are available, we’ll get them out to you.

In the meantime, I pray that you see the bigger picture in the Redemption Series. That God waits for you with open arms—every morning, every night—wanting you to return to him, return to your first love with Jesus Christ. It might be that you never left him, but still he waits for all of us, wanting us to draw nearer.

My prayer is that the Redemption Series helps you see Christ at work in a way you perhaps have never seen before.

If you are one who doesn’t understand about redemption and God’s plan of salvation for mankind, please contact a local Bible-believing church and ask one of the leaders to lay it out for you. I believe that if you’re in this situation, you read this book for a reason. You might think you picked it up at a store or borrowed it from a friend or a library. But the truth is God wanted you to read it so he could speak something very important to your soul. The truth that he loves you and has a place for you in his family.

On a personal note, know that my family is doing well. Our children are still between the
D
s. No one dating, driving, or in diapers. But nothing stays the same and by the time you’re reading
Reunion,
Kelsey will be begging us for driver’s training. Life has a way of constantly throwing lessons at us, and with God at our side, the learning is a joyous adventure.

Kelsey and 11-year-old Tyler are involved in Christian Youth Theater, a growing company of talented directors and coordinators who provide top-notch theatrical productions in a Christian environment. CYT just came to our area, and we are blessed beyond words that our artistic children have a Christian outlet where their talents can be used for God and the community. The youngest boys, Sean, Josh, EJ, and Austin, are all still tearing up the basketball court and soccer field. Donald loves coaching them, and the thrill of parenting continues.

We covet your prayers and encouragement. As always, I’d love to hear from you. Contact me at my Web site:
www.KarenKingsbury.com,
or by writing me at my email address: [email protected].

Blessings to you and yours…in his light and love,
Karen Kingsbury

A WORD FROM GARY SMALLEY

  The goal of the Redemption Series is to give you an unforgettable story with a minute or two of relational advice at the back of each book.
Return
—like the two books before it—touches on some of the most practical relational areas of all, areas many of you are dealing with even now.

The issue of honoring those you love by returning to them is one that applies to both healthy and unhealthy relationships. With healthy relationships, returning is a daily event. Let’s take a closer look.

R
ETURNING AND THE
H
EALTHY
R
ELATIONSHIP
The Bible warns us of the importance of returning to our first love—Jesus Christ. Any of us who have tried to live the Christian life know what this means. Returning to our God is as constant and necessary as breathing in and out. We have a sin nature, an innate ability to stray from the Lord. But if we recognize our need to return to God and if we do so on a daily basis, we will continue to move ahead in our relationship with him.

The same principle can be applied to our relationships with each other. Many things strain at the ties that bind us to our loved ones. Busyness, misunderstandings, distance—both physical and emotional—missed opportunities, and a host of situations specific to each of us.

Say, for example, you have a parent or parents who live far away. Your life is busy and so is theirs. Over time, busyness becomes silence, and silence can become strained. With a mentality of constantly returning to that relationship, you might make a determination to call your parent or parents once a week or once every other week. By doing this you express honor and love and a decision to not let time cut the ties.

Without making that conscious decision to keep returning to that person, your relationship will at best be mediocre, and will always carry the potential to become unhealthy. Let’s look at a few ways we can continually return to those we love.

1. Schedule occasional date time.

• Realize that this will be different if the date is with a daughter or a mother or a spouse.
  
• If you are prone to letting time slip by, make sure to mark this on a calendar or Palm Pilot. (Call Sue this afternoon to catch up.)
  

2. Use together time to remind the person you love why you love him or her.

• Laugh and reminisce about days gone by.
  
• Find creative ways to do a checkup on whether the memories you’re making are as memorable as those you once made.
  

3. List the reasons why this person is important to you.

• Set aside time to jot down the reasons you love this person. Be specific.
  
• Share this list with the person at one of your regular meeting times, either by phone or in person. This will feel like a shower of love to the person you care about, and will go a long way to making him or her feel that sense of returning that is so crucial in any relationship.
  

R
ETURNING AND THE
B
ROKEN
R
ELATIONSHIP
As much as God wants us to keep returning to the importance of our relationships, he has another relational truth that’s crucial not only to our dealings with one another, but also to our dealings with Christ.

Numerous stories are told through Scripture showing the importance of mending broken ties between us and the people we love. One of my favorites is the story of the man who is told not to leave his offering at the altar for God until he makes amends with his brother first.

Many of you reading this will find yourself relating to the Baxter family, grieving the loss of one of your own, one who has left the fold and ventured out on his own away from his family, his faith, and his future dreams. For you I pray an ocean of faith, rivers of patience, and a constant rain of God’s grace until the day of that loved one’s return.

Others of you have perhaps done the wandering. You’ve walked away from a relationship for one reason or another. Maybe you’ve justified it, written that person off as being too controlling or overbearing, too negative or too judgmental. In the process you’ve done what millions of people have done through the ages—you’ve cut ties with someone you love. God knows that this type of cutting wounds not only the one you’ve walked away from, but you as well. The kind of cut that won’t heal unless you do the one thing God wants you to do: return.

Here are some ways you can return to someone you’ve left behind:

1. Write a letter.

• Often times what can’t be said face-to-face or even in a phone conversation, can be expressed with the written word. Writing a letter gives you a chance to edit yourself, read over what you’ve written, and make sure it’s exactly what you want to say. Also, any words of love expressed in a letter will jump out at someone you’ve cut out of your life. Once you’ve written it, don’t let anything stop you. Send it…send it now.
  

2. Make a phone call.

• One young man I worked with had been cut off from his parents for three years. The reason? His parents didn’t agree with his career choice. In a move of independence and defiance, he moved to another state, stuck with his career choice, and went about life. After reading
  Redemption
  (the first book in the Redemption series), this young man prayed, grabbed the telephone receiver, and held his breath. Then he dialed a series of numbers he hadn’t dialed for three years. Next he did this:
  

3. Apologize.

• Nothing mends ties faster than an apology. It is the Superglue of relationships, followed up by the next most important words.
  

4. Say, “I love you.”

• When the young man from the example above made his life-changing phone call, he apologized first. Then he told his parents the truth. Life’s too short to keep silent about love. “I love you, Mom and Dad. I love you.” What happened next is perfect proof of why we must return to those we’ve walked away from. His parents wept. They apologized and expressed their love. A week later his father got on an airplane, flew to his home, and spent three days learning to appreciate this young man’s career choice.
  

With those simple thoughts in mind, answer the following study questions and take stock of your own relationships. Until next time, know that we pray for each of you and believe that God will continue to use this series to make a life-changing impact on your relationships.

For more information about how the concepts in the Redemption Series can save or improve your relationships, contact us at:

The Smalley Relationship Center
1482 Lakeshore Drive
Branson, MO 65616

Phone: 800-84TODAY (848-6329)
Fax: 417-336-3515
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.smalleyonline.com