After the Resurrection
April 26, 2011
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When Lent began I looked forward to a season of growth. I planned to use Ed Hays book, The Mountain of God for my devotional. I did use it but the season was not a season of growth for me at all. In fact the only thing I liked about it was being able to eat those Reece’s peanut butter eggs after buying them from the store instead of pulling them out of my freezer as I do the rest of the year. (I do love those eggs and always buy enough this time of year to put them in my freezer so I can eat them all year long!)
I’m not sure why I was so bummed this year. Maybe it was having to deal with my double vision or being more tired than usual. However, I think there really was no reason in particular accept that it was just one of those years. One year I didn’t put my Christmas tree up because I just didn’t feel like it. So what ever the reason was, Lent just passed me by and before I knew it, it was Easter Sunday. I couldn’t even get excited about putting flowers on a wooden cross at Circle of Mercy, my church that meets on Sunday evenings!
Mark Ramsey, the pastor at Grace Covenant Presbyterian, did say some things in his sermon that got me thinking. He relayed a story that a congregational member told him about a church on Palm Sunday. After the devastating tornadoes that destroyed several churches, in one neighborhood a remarkable thing happened.
There were “scores of people walking down the street with shovels and chainsaws and wheelbarrows. They were members of a church. Their church and their neighborhood were spared the Storm’s wrath. But their pastor had cancelled services and told the congregation to go and serve and help and support. That would be their worship for the day. Where is the resurrection true? Where is Easter happening? Right there…face to face with need. Eye to eye with Hope.”
So it doesn’t really matter what my Lent was like. What matters now is, “how can I make the resurrection true in my own life?” I can’t serve on a lot of committees, lead bible studies or preach sermons but I can support the people God has put into my life. By writing this blog, I’ve met many interesting folks who are struggling with brain injuries. And in my every day life, I’ve met many people who feel they don’t fit into our world at all. Perhaps this is my Easter.
How do you see resurrection in your life? Or perhaps you don’t feel God’s care for you at all. Directions for commenting are above on the right or feel free to contact me at