redeeming love

In thinking about the season of life that I find myself, I’ve wondered if this is my winning season, but that’s not an accurate description.

It’s my Redemption Season!! I am experiencing the fruit of redemption.

It was 1999. My freshman year of college. A junior, maybe a senior, Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sought me out to pledge AKA. She was intriguing, kind, confident & pleasantly intimidating. I didn’t know much about black sororities & neither did my friends at that time. Not having many strong ties with black women, my contemporary or elder, that I could rely on for wisdom & perspective, I proceeded with the feedback of my peer group.

I didn’t pledge in spite of that gut instinct beckoning me to be brave in spite of my fear of unfamiliarity. While I own my decision as mine, I recognize the power that peer groups have on shaping & influencing individual decision making.
Over the years, I’ve wondered how differently my 20s may have turned out if I’d followed my gut. If I am honest, I believe that through that woman’s invitation to pledge, God was extending an invitation for me to travel a different path. (I had many invitations throughout my 20s that I failed to accept.) Lately, I’ve been entertaining the idea of pledging AKA. Surprisingly, this week I received an invitation to become a member of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary’s chapter of Theta Alpha Kappa (TAK), the national honor society for religious studies and theology. This isn’t an invitation to pledge (AKA) & it’s not a black sorority, but the invitation is reminiscent of that invitation I received 20 years ago!
And it’s an absolute honor & privilege to become a member of Theta Alpha Kappa (TAK)