Easter at Home: Embracing a New Perspective
I was over-the-top excited about Easter this year.
The idea of no commitments and a family service at home sounded heavenly to me. My introverted personality didn’t mind the idea of a simple Easter.
I imagined this week would be all about our family focusing on Christ’s sacrifice for us. With a slow schedule and no distractions, I thought we’d really feel the depth and excitement of Easter deep in our bones. My expectations were high.
Our week has really been the opposite.
I’ve dealt with more hurtful realities and hard situations than I thought possible during a stay-at-home mandate. Every ounce of peace that I’ve had this week has been a hard-fought battle.
This week, my son in South Korea turned 9-months-old. I missed a milestone, and I allowed the tears to flow that day. It doesn’t seem fair that I have to miss part of his life.
I even got to a point where I was going to skip writing an Easter blog post. I felt like other people could do this amazing week more justice than I could. I had been fighting all week for the right words and asking God for direction. I was weary.
But then, I remembered that this week and my writing isn’t about me or my feelings.
I’ve been reading the book When to Walk Away by Gary Thomas. It’s about guarding your ministry against toxic people. (Spoiler alert! If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you have a ministry.) I love this quote from the book, “God’s kingdom is more important than your kingdom.”
I can CHOOSE to dwell on things out of my control and allow it to consume me, or I can choose to remain committed to this ministry as a way to point others to Jesus. It’s a perspective that keeps my eyes on the bigger picture. It allows me to keep pursuing Jesus during hard weeks.
When people ask me how I handle the wait for our son, my reply is always, “Only by God’s grace.”
I find myself telling my oldest daughter all of the time to stay in her Bible. This is always my first response when a problem arises in her life.
I know that there is nothing else that can truly fix anything that she faces other than Jesus.
This week, I needed that reminder for myself.
Stay in your Bible. Keep God’s Kingdom first.
I know that right now none of our lives look the way we thought that they would. Many of us are fighting the loss of income, anxiety over health, uncontrollable emotions, uncharted parenting waters, and an unknown future.
Jesus’ death on the cross doesn’t erase the pain and hurt we feel in this fallen world, but it allows something greater to come out of it.
Ecclesiastes is easily the most depressing book in the Bible, but I love how it ends. Solomon basically says after being a real "Debbie Downer" about life, “When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity. For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, CSB)
Maybe I found exactly what I was looking for this Easter after all.
A MORE intimate relationship with my Savior. Plus, an understanding that my kingdom pails in comparison to the impact of my Heavenly Father’s Kingdom on this world.
Whether Easter looks the way we thought that it would or not, the reality of Easter never changes.
Jesus died for us. It is complete. His Kingdom, not ours. His will be done.
I pray that you encounter Jesus in a whole new way this Easter, too!
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