A Week of Lessons: Easter Sunday

my 30 Easters with You

reveal an emerging and quirky story

of how Your bold steps out of an empty tomb

pulled my slow, shy steps out of the shadows

from paralyzed fear and dragging heals to a dance of joy in sun

that first Easter was a snapshot of a nine month old baby

probably sleeping on the floor behind the organ

is some frilly Easter pastels and patten leather

tiny eyes peeking at mommy's feet on the peddles

and hearing daddy's voice lead the congregation in a lullaby hymn

five years later you'd see a bubbly pig-tailed grin

under a white floppy hat with matching purse

skipping from one white-haired lady to another

for "oohs and awes" at my twirling dress

and some free bubble gum fished out of purses

a princess in a steepled castle

and the pews were my playground

but something happened in those next years

a hole in the story where the process is blocked out

like a blurred face or bout with amnesia

the music shifts for that 12th Easter

like that pulsing heartbeat screechy violin in a horror movie

as the victim's hand shakes and reaches for a doorknob

maybe it was a new city, new career for dad, new everything

knocking awkward knees hidden under a guise of invisible

layered in dull colors of grays and tans

back row of the church, singing harmony in a whisper

feeling a ball of ice in my throat that could melt into tears

if I didn't keep swallowing and keep my face hidden in the pages

a simple shyness let loose into a Tasmanian devil

of anxiety that sewed the lips shut

brought on chest pains and doubled-over stomach aches

and asked mom and dad to order for me at restaurants

but I ran to You in my diary prayers

in the safety of my messy bedroom

and jumped inside elaborate costumes

in the safety of a fantasy stage

and You started something new, something bigger

than a hand-me-down truth from mom and dad.

Zooming through the sands of time to today

sitting at my desk, grinning with peace, surrounded by people

as I listen to the team I love celebrating You

6 services, lots of fingerfoods, good conversations & skip-bo,

dancing a dance once again like that five year old princess

or an uncivilized king who wrote a few poems himself

trying to ignore those old fears that try to steal it all away again

but then You remind me of that evolving story of our Easter dance

from too scared to order at restaurants

to leading a team of superstars

only You...

I can't wait to see what You have in mind for my little girl

and all her Easters to come

I wonder what Your steps out of that tomb

will lead her to

and I hope she'll share with me

those secret anniversaries of her heart

her own private holy days with You

for this Easter

and many more to come.

"The holiest of holidays are those kept by ourselves in silence and apart: the secret anniversaries of the heart." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"For the devout Jew, the calendar was more the a way of marking time. It provided a timely way to commemorate God's dealings in the life of the nation. The month of Nisan marked the Passover, the time of Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage. Sivan brought the feast of Pentecost, the celebration of another bountiful harvest from God. Tishri took the people back to their wilderness wanderings through the Feast of the Tabernacles. Each holiday became a holy day--a time of recalling, repenting, and renewing old commitments to follow the God of Israel. Holidays really can be holy days. The word holy means set apart for divine services or purposes. Our modern calendar can remind us as believers to commemorate what God has done for us."

Lenya Heitzig and Penny Rose, Live Fearlessly

"Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives."2 Corinthians 5:17-19 (Msg)