Stewarding the Time Given: Finding Redemption in the Present

Written by Joe McDaniel, Jr.

On April 12, during Bishop Kendrick’s visit to Christ Church, Pensacola, he quoted from Tolkien’s "The Lord of the Rings" in his sermon.

To paraphrase, Frodo says he wishes the Ring had never come to him and that none of these events had happened. Gandalf answers that many who live to see such dark times feel the same, but people cannot choose the times they live in — they can only decide what to do with the time they are given.

That passage is a favorite in much of literature. It has guided many lives: past mistakes need not define a person. What truly matters is how one stewards the time before them. Trust in God’s grace allows every misstep to be redeemed; by His mercy failures are refined into wisdom, and the life lived now is shaped into His purpose.

That conviction becomes a quiet compass. To name the past honestly, one's regrets, missed chances, and the ways one has hurt others, is not to be trapped by it. Instead, it is to place the past in God’s hands and allow Him to do what He does best: heal, redeem, and transform. The broken parts of a story do not disappear so much as become part of a larger redemption. What once weighed a person down can become ballast that steadies the course, and scarred places can become markers of God’s faithfulness.

Living this way calls for two things. First, humility: the willingness to learn from what has been. That means examining choices, admitting where one was wrong, and receiving correction. Second, courage: the resolve to act now. Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the decision to move forward in faith despite it. Each choice made today, each small act of kindness and obedience, adds up. These daily offerings are how experience is turned into fruit.

Think for a moment about the people most admired. More often than not, they are those who have taken their pasts and let God work through them. They did not pretend mistakes never happened. They allowed those experiences to teach compassion, deepen wisdom, and sharpen purpose. Their lives became testimonies not because they were flawless, but because they trusted that God could bring good out of failure.

So, what does stewardship of time look like in practical terms? It looks like repentance when needed and reconciliation where possible. It looks like choosing generosity over bitterness, service over self-protection, and patience over haste. It looks like asking God each morning, “What would you have me do with this day?” and then listening for His call in the small things as well as the big.

One cannot rewrite the past, and it is unwise to pretend there is no past to reckon with. But the present can be stewarded. Bring personal history to the cross and say, “Lord, redeem this for Your purposes.” Let His grace refine mistakes into wisdom and wounds into sources of compassion.

Move forward not in denial but in hope; humble enough to learn, brave enough to act, and faithful enough to trust that the God who redeems will use stories for His glory. May lives be stewarded well, and may the life lived now be shaped by His mercy into a testimony of grace.

Thank you Bishop Russell for that timely and powerful reminder to steward the time given.

*Mr. McDaniel is a member of The Executive Council of The Episcopal Church and serves as the Co-chair for the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast's Commission on Racial Justice & Reconciliation.