I don’t believe if I live to be a thousand years old, I will be able to comprehend this love. In forty years of following this Messiah, this Redeemer Jesus, I have only begun to scratch the surface of my heart. It’s “Easter”, and as I don the robe of “Let’s Celebrate!”, I swear I can’t move beyond an almost stunned “Thank You Lord, for remembering me…” For some reason, this morning I am once again that nineteen-year-old girl, alone on my bedroom floor with no one but Shame to share my loneliness and utter helplessness to change my course. And there He is, listening to my confession of sinfulness and my cry for forgiveness. There He is, lifting me up from that floor, forgiving me and cleansing me and placing my feet on a very new journey. And what a journey it has been. Not the crisp, clear, pie-in-the-sky journey that some would promise to the newly rescued. No, my path has been anything but idyllic, and yet, for reasons that have defied my circumstances (and my wayward nature), here I am – humbled and grateful for a very alive Savior. And here He is today, completing what he began…

I am joyful, yes, JOYFUL, but this joy is residing a bit deeper this morning. Joy feels more like “Thank You”. I will enjoy the fellowship of family and friends around my table today, and we will laugh and eat and share our lives and food and mutual love for this risen Savior. We will re-affirm His workings in our lives and His heart that none should perish. But rather than embrace this day in the spirit of a holiday, I have this sense, not of religious festivity, but rather of intimate bond with the One who is the reason I stand today. Because He is risen, He calls me to honor my robe of righteousness, to walk worthy of my calling, and to allow His love and compassion to to be my heartbeat. He asks me to trust Him when I cannot understand, to love when love is not returned, to share Him when the fear of rejection tries to shut me up, to honor Him with my gifting, to hope without excuse. “…and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:5

And so this morning I join my voice with the host of the rescued and redeemed to say, “He is risen indeed!”. But I can’t bring myself to say it just because it is “Easter”. I say it simply because…He is…

Eucharisteo~