GLORY!

April 5, 2015

The first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox.

I can do that math.  

Vernal Equinox - First day of spring - the date when the length of day and night are the same. (March 20 this year)

The first full moon after the Vernal Equinox - that was April 3.  I remember the moon being full on Jacob's birthday.     Roger always said that the crazies came out on the full moon - meaning of course, that the craziest calls came in.  Jacob was not too crazy on his 14th birthday, so the first responders were safe. April 3 was also Good Friday - Jacob shared the date this year.  Both celebrations were special.

First Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox - Sunday, April 5.     We call it Easter Sunday.   I personally like "Ressurection Day."

Easter is about a lot of things to a lot of people.
Some people say it is about new life - Eggs and all that stuff.  
Some say it came from a pagan festival - fertility - bunnies, I guess are representative of that.  
Some say it is just another Hallmark moment and a celebration of spring.

I have to say that there was a time when I loved the shopping for the new pastel clothing and white shoes and hats and bags and flowers.  That was when the girls were younger and it is just the thing you do when you like to doll up your little girls.   I am older now. Hopefully wiser now.  I care less and less about material things.  I care a whole lot more about eternal things.   Life changes you like that. If you are really fortunate, it changes you early in life.  It is not always tragedy that changes you, but often it is.

I love sunrise on Resurrection Day.  I am anything but a 'crack of dawn' kind of girl, but when I do rise before dawn, I am always glad that I did. There is something about sunrise that is spectacular. The world is so fresh and clean. Nothing has messed up the day just yet.

My goals - lately they are not exceptionally long term goals. Long term, yes, in the sense that I have asked God to allow me to remain here until I fulfill His purpose for my life.  How long - I don't know, any more than Roger knew a year ago.  

But goals, markers, are a good thing. As time has passed this winter and early spring, I have set my sights on certain things.  Once spring arrived and a little energy returned, I set my sights on Easter morning - and I really hoped for sunrise.  Karin helped me achieve that goal and joined me at the foot of the Cross.

There were huge gatherings all over town on Easter morning. SeaWorld Amphitheatre, Amway Center, DP Performing Arts Center, The Pines on Lake Down.....lots of traffic too!  It was actually really nice to know that all of these places were at capacity at sunrise.  Some people only go to church on Christmas and Easter, and while I think they miss quite the blessing, twice a year is better than not at all.

As for me, give me the smaller, more intimate gathering. Give me traditional hymns. UP FROM THE GRAVE HE AROSE!   There is only one day of the whole year that this hymn speaks most loudly.  Don't give me the contemporary stuff - give me the real depth of the message - the joy - even what was a surprise to so many.

He Arose!      Yes, it starts off pretty sad, like a funeral durge.  And then, just like Christ broke out of the tomb - oh, if done with enthusiasm and joy, the sounds of this song are nothing short of life-giving!  NEW life-giving!  It is the Resurrection message, after all!

Sunrise arrived at 7:11 AM and even though it was overcast, the sun still broke through. The warmth of that reflection on the Cross served to remind me of the warmth I feel even in the saddest or most lonely of times, simply because He LIVES.

On this Resurrection Day, I spent time thinking about so many wonderful people who do much more in the way of selfless service to others than I even think about doing, and they may or may not attend church, and they may, but possibly don't have this amazing thing called a relationship with Christ.    And then I think about eternity and all of those wonderful things you do on earth, but how you can absolutely miss the joy of an eternity in Heaven by missing the one key ingredient - a relationship with Christ.

And yes, people have different belief systems, and that is fine, because in America, that is one of the amazing freedoms we embrace. I have studied many of those belief systems and even thought about which made sense to me. But - when I came right down to it, there was only one that allowed me to have a relationship with a LIVING God. And there was only one way to commune with Him, and that is through a relationship with Christ.  

More now, than ever before in my life, I can not possibly be thankful enough for the fact that I chose to accept that relationship many years ago. I did not 'have it all together' then, and I certainly have a lot more to learn, but I love that He accepted me where I was, loved me each and every moment of every day, and still does.

I have learned so much more in the past year, through the tough times, through the sad times, through the incredibly hard days and nights, that Jesus cares deeply and is not going to leave me helpless.

I know this Because He Lives! - oh yes, another of my favorite Hymns - and it would have been Roger's Lesson for me this day, and every day.   Because He Lives - you CAN face tomorrow. Because He lives - let your fear be gone.  Because HE holds the future - life is worth living - but only because He lives!        Roger often quoted things that he thought were important.                   This is one of them! 

Bunnies and eggs - oh, they make Easter fun in a different way.        I see eggs and I see new life. I see designed eggs and I see the amazing creativity of God - how we are all so different, and yet so much alike, all with this void inside of us that will be filled with something - either with a living God, Christ - or with something else, even good things, but not Christ.

I see bunnies and I think about how rapidly they reproduce themselves. I hope Heaven is absolutely filled to the edges of the Heavenly Gates with people who have reproduced themselves for Christ - Christ living in them and then in others.

And of course, I know that Heaven is big enough for every soul who ever lived or will live - but I also know that not all will choose to live there for eternity.

The final part of the song....
I sing it with joy and I hope that I live it out, because I look forward to the day that I see Jesus, my friend, my Saviour!

Yes - one day, I will cross that 'river.'      Just as friends and loved ones have done before me, and some very recently, I'll be finished with that earthly 'fight' we call living - even if it is joyful living - it is only a part of the journey.  But death - sad as it may be for those who remain on earth - ah....it gives way to victory OVER DEATH - for that is what Resurrection Day is really all about.

And then - the LIGHTS OF GLORY ..... I love thinking about it as the sun breaks through the morning skies ......  FOR I KNOW - without a doubt - That my Saviour LIVES!

It just gives me really good shivers all over to think about Glory.   I like thinking about the Rapture too....that feeling of taking off in an airplane....oh, it has to be even better than that. 

And that too, is one of my desires - to experience the Rapture!    I will be ready...just like Roger....he showed us how quickly it will be. One moment here, next moment in glory!   

Happy Resurrection Day - something to remember and embrace for the next 365 too!