In fact, the NIV’s translation of Ephesians 5:16 uses the phrase making the most of every opportunity instead of redeeming the time. When God says we should be “redeeming the time,” He wants us to live in constant awareness of that ticking clock and make the most of the time we have. Only God knows how much time each of us has on this earth to make decisions that will impact eternity (Psalm 139:16). Time is a gift from God, and none of us know how much of it we are allotted. King was submitted by Andrea Parker, also a teacher at Fulton Elementary.To redeem something means to buy it back, to regain possession of it. It is one of the few subjects where you utilize both parts of your brain.” In addition to working as a music teacher at Fulton, King leads two beginning bands at Kellogg and LaSalle Elementary. I ended up with more than I started with,” King said. It’s amazing what happens when you tell your story. Now, all the guitars have been replaced along with amplifiers, drums and ukuleles. King received more than $12,000 in donations from organizations, and personal donors. Viewers sympathized with King and the south side students, so they gave and gave and gave. King shared his tale with the media and nearly all Chicago news outlets amplified his story, including the Chicago Tribune, Channel 7, and WTTW. This angered the six-year CPS veteran, but he channeled his anger to create change. “It threw my entire quarter off,” lamented King, who knows that funds for music have been at an all-time low.

After a school and police investigation, it was determined that the items were stolen. These included 20 guitars, two keyboards, 12 ukuleles, a metronome and even his own personal flute. King had come into his classroom one Monday morning in September and noticed something strange: more than half of his instruments were missing. But just three weeks into the 2017-2018 school year, the honeymoon was over for this Grambling graduate. Work was beginning on the the school’s first assembly of the year and students were anxiously competing to star in it. Students were excited about learning the basics of the piano and after much planning, his drumline was coming into fruition. Timothy King had just earned the title of Network 11 Arts Liaison. His third year as Fulton Elementary Music teacher started off smoothly.

Mornings in the Light by Timothy King