The moments that freeze time
There are those moments in life where time just freezes, where the noises fade, the mundane stuff ceases to feel important, and the important things come into clear focus. It is the moments when the phone call comes in, the doctors report comes back, the ring box pops out, the secret spills out, the two pink lines show up on the pregnancy test. These moments change our lives for better or for worse, and what we discover in those moments can't be ignored or unheard. We can't go back in time and stop them from coming. We can only move forward. Sometimes what is discovered in these moments is elating and euphoric, but more often then not it is devastating. The word cancer gets whispered, the affair is uncovered, the job termination letter is handed out. No way to go back, but what to do next? This year has brought a lot of those type of moments into the lives of people that I care about. And although it isn't always my personal sorrow or my own burden, my love for them makes it my sorrow all the same. Often the only thing I can offer is a hug, a chocolate bar, shared tears, and a lot of prayers.
I was busy living life this year and thinking my way through a lot of these situations when Easter snuck up on me this year. Usually I try to be a bit more intentional in preparing my heart for it, but this year I was lost in life and it did almost take me by surprise. But when it did catch my attention and capture my heart, it brought a huge sigh of relief to my soul. Because the empty tomb is a reminder that life in all of it's heaviness and seriousness, for all of the pain and despair it sometimes brings, is not without hope. Because even on the darkest of days when all of the plans seem to have unraveled, the pain is sharp, and the darkness seems thick like a blanket, the reality is that the story isn't over. God is able to make all things beautiful in his time, even the ugliest of things. My husband reminded us on Sunday that the cross that we often wear around our necks was far from beautiful in it's time. It was an instrument of extreme torture and death. But now when we see it we call it beautiful because of the symbol it holds for us, the reminder of love. The darkness of that day is overshadowed by the love that was poured out on it. In the same way, a tomb is hardly a symbol of life and of hope, unless of course that tomb is empty. The empty tomb for a Christian is by definition the ultimate symbol of hope. The reminder that although between here and eternity there will certainly be dark and difficult days, that in the end our ultimate enemy, death, has already been defeated.
All those in between moments that seem to stop time with their deep wounds, do not need to be the end of the story. In Christ we are offered an eternity where the wrongs are made right, loneliness is no more, the tears are wiped away, there are no goodbyes, and sickness ceases to exist. All of the things that threaten our happiness and even our very lives in this place will have no power to touch us there. That doesn't erase out temporary problems or the pain that we currently face, but it does give hope. Hope is powerful, the belief that things won't always be this dark gives us the courage to keep going where otherwise we might not be able to push through. So because of my risen Saviour and his defeat of the grave, I can keep on smiling even on the hard days. I am one of those people who loves to know the end of the story before I get to it. I read the last chapter of books and watch the end of movies so that I can make it through the middle part where the tensions run high. It is one of my absolute joys that Christ has provided us with the end of the story and it is the thing that carries me through every hard day.
Last night I had a date night with my husband of almost 12 years. We have been best friends since we were 16 so our years together how have now passed our years apart on this earth. Growing up together hasn't always been easy and we have faced our share of dark spots along the way in our own lives and in the lives of people we love. We have learned that being able to laugh together is indispensable. When we are in a hard spot, a little laughter lightens the load and reminds our hearts of happier times. It gives us hope that things won't always be this way and helps us hold onto each others hands and wait for the sunnier days. They always come.
On a much deeper level, the coming of Easter every year is a visible reminder that no matter what the year has held, or what the next year will bring, the end of the story has already been written. For the Christian, the certain hope of eternity with our Saviour in a home that will be truly home, full of all the peace, joy, and justice that this world lacks is enough. It's enough for the hardest of days because in a blink of an eye even those will be gone and we will be at rest. I needed to be reminded of that hope this year because it puts all the other things into perspective and gives me the courage to offer up that smile to my hurting friend and hold out hope, real true hope.
I was busy living life this year and thinking my way through a lot of these situations when Easter snuck up on me this year. Usually I try to be a bit more intentional in preparing my heart for it, but this year I was lost in life and it did almost take me by surprise. But when it did catch my attention and capture my heart, it brought a huge sigh of relief to my soul. Because the empty tomb is a reminder that life in all of it's heaviness and seriousness, for all of the pain and despair it sometimes brings, is not without hope. Because even on the darkest of days when all of the plans seem to have unraveled, the pain is sharp, and the darkness seems thick like a blanket, the reality is that the story isn't over. God is able to make all things beautiful in his time, even the ugliest of things. My husband reminded us on Sunday that the cross that we often wear around our necks was far from beautiful in it's time. It was an instrument of extreme torture and death. But now when we see it we call it beautiful because of the symbol it holds for us, the reminder of love. The darkness of that day is overshadowed by the love that was poured out on it. In the same way, a tomb is hardly a symbol of life and of hope, unless of course that tomb is empty. The empty tomb for a Christian is by definition the ultimate symbol of hope. The reminder that although between here and eternity there will certainly be dark and difficult days, that in the end our ultimate enemy, death, has already been defeated.
All those in between moments that seem to stop time with their deep wounds, do not need to be the end of the story. In Christ we are offered an eternity where the wrongs are made right, loneliness is no more, the tears are wiped away, there are no goodbyes, and sickness ceases to exist. All of the things that threaten our happiness and even our very lives in this place will have no power to touch us there. That doesn't erase out temporary problems or the pain that we currently face, but it does give hope. Hope is powerful, the belief that things won't always be this dark gives us the courage to keep going where otherwise we might not be able to push through. So because of my risen Saviour and his defeat of the grave, I can keep on smiling even on the hard days. I am one of those people who loves to know the end of the story before I get to it. I read the last chapter of books and watch the end of movies so that I can make it through the middle part where the tensions run high. It is one of my absolute joys that Christ has provided us with the end of the story and it is the thing that carries me through every hard day.
Last night I had a date night with my husband of almost 12 years. We have been best friends since we were 16 so our years together how have now passed our years apart on this earth. Growing up together hasn't always been easy and we have faced our share of dark spots along the way in our own lives and in the lives of people we love. We have learned that being able to laugh together is indispensable. When we are in a hard spot, a little laughter lightens the load and reminds our hearts of happier times. It gives us hope that things won't always be this way and helps us hold onto each others hands and wait for the sunnier days. They always come.
On a much deeper level, the coming of Easter every year is a visible reminder that no matter what the year has held, or what the next year will bring, the end of the story has already been written. For the Christian, the certain hope of eternity with our Saviour in a home that will be truly home, full of all the peace, joy, and justice that this world lacks is enough. It's enough for the hardest of days because in a blink of an eye even those will be gone and we will be at rest. I needed to be reminded of that hope this year because it puts all the other things into perspective and gives me the courage to offer up that smile to my hurting friend and hold out hope, real true hope.
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