Rejoice

One of the fun things of having not yet spent a full calendar year in a church that is not the denomination I grew up in (sheesh, this sentence is already complicated): They can still surprise me. I've no idea what Easter service is like at Red River, so I'm pretty excited.

But first: The past few weeks. Lent was surprisingly easy this year. Not that I kept it perfectly-- I had already crashed and burned on one of my chosen resolutions before noon on Ash Wednesday-- but I did, once again, become aware of how easy it is for me to get side-tracked in my Christian walk. These six weeks have been invaluable. This may have been the start of something.

Also during Lent: Rez Week. Short for Resurrection Week, it's a yearly celebration that brings together all the student ministries at UT for the purpose of sharing our faith and our burdens with one another. (It did not coincide with Holy Week, which really threw me off-- it was the week before Palm Sunday.) Every evening, we had a praise and worship time together, so I went on Monday thinking that it would last maybe an hour, hour and a half, tops. I loved the worship time (and learned a new song that's been in my head ever since). The speaker was uplifting. After the speaker, our instructions were to turn to the people near us and pray together. So I ended up praying with two girls who were total strangers, and it was a joy to hear them share their hearts. Also, as a side note, I was impressed-- when I was proper college age, I never, ever prayed aloud. That's been a major growth thing for me in my adult life. These two ladies are way ahead of me there. We finished up with some more worship (by which I mean singing, btw) and then split for the evening. I checked my phone: It had been nearly three hours. Oops. I didn't stay that long for the rest of the week, mostly because I don't want Chad to forget what I look like.

He isn't there. Source.

So, that brings us to today. Many Christians (including me, I suppose) consider Easter to be THE day on the Christian calendar. We celebrate the resurrection every Sunday, of course, but Easter is as close as we have to an anniversary. It feels special. And after having participated in Lent (I counted the other day-- this is my 22nd year of celebrating Lent), it becomes all the more poignant, because there's nothing I can give up that will bring me anywhere close to living just like Jesus. And I'm particularly thankful on this day that he took care of it, so I don't have to go around wailing at my own inadequacy.

A most blessed Easter to you.