Easter week

Easter is coming up soon and I’m excited to see what this reminder of Christ’s resurrection will bring. I know that Christ lives within me the entire year through, but I feel this time of year is an amazing time of both reflection and renewal of my faith. Perhaps it’s because I was baptized on Maundy Thursday fifteen years ago, but I think it’s more than that. We are reminded during this time that death has no grip on us- that Christ has overcome the grave- and Satan has been defeated. I don’t think this is lost on Satan either, so it’s a time we must be prepared to fight the spiritual battles of this world.

I gained a different perspective on Easter eight years ago. I’ve always tried to picture it through Jesus’ vantage point but came to realize how it must have pained God to give up his firstborn son as well. He knew it was coming and he knew the grave could not hold him, and yet death would not Passover His begotten Son as it had the Israelites so many years before.

I posted this about Passover when I was pregnant with M and the timing is pretty close to the same with this pregnancy (this time around I only have 11 days to go). It’s a leap year in the Jewish calendar and so this year Easter and Passover don’t coincide- though I’m not really sure why- I feel the date set for Easter should follow the Jewish calendar- but no one asked me when the date was set so…

THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2010
Passover
Passover- I wonder what the Pharaoh thought when Moses told him that all the firstborn sons would die in the night.

Was my heart hardened when I first had that inclination? Or was God just preparing my heart for the loss to come?

Did Pharaoh even tell the other Egyptians? Would it have mattered? Obviously word quickly spread through the Israelite community and they prepared... the blood of the lambs protected them.

I'm so grateful for the blood of The Lamb that protects me still.

The angel of death has visited my household- but while it robbed Levi of his breath, it did not steal his eternal life, nor did it rob me of my hope.

We go from Passover- a celebration that death did not stop at the Israelite homes. A celebration I feel I can not partake in... but then Easter comes... and while death had occurred, it did not have power over the grave!! That's something worth celebrating to me!

I wonder what Jesus thought of the irony as he sat to dine at his final Passover feast? He knew that death was coming for him- the firstborn Son- but he knew it would bring life for all... I know the timing of his death was no coincidence- he was the sacrificial Lamb- his blood was poured out to protect us from death- but yet he knew that he would not be passed over- he would have to taste death for us all.

The timing of Passover this year comes for me at a time that I wonder if it's a coincidence or not. I am 36 weeks pregnant right now... sometime between week 36 & 37 the angel of death came silently and took Levi without me even knowing. This time though I know that death can and does darken the doorways of our homes but it is life I am focused on! I have faith that I'll meet this baby as she takes her first breaths in three weeks (if not sooner).

Last Easter brought a different change in our lives. It was during Lent that our church read the Bible aloud daily. Each day people signed up to read scripture for about an hour with the goal of reading through all of scripture during the forty days. We didn’t quite make the goal but I found the time to be especially moving. I found there were parts of God’s word that stood out to me more when I read them aloud. I also felt that God told me that obedience to speak His word would bring about revival. I initially believed this would be revival at the church, but soon found the ways in which God was moving in our personal lives. It was during this time that we felt God was calling us to take a leap of faith and go further in our call to missions. Tommy quit his job but we weren’t sure what or where the next step might be. By the time Pentecost rolled around, we were fairly certain God was telling us it was time to pack up and leave home.

Fast forward a year- we aren’t exactly sure when or where we’ll be called to take the next step, but we’re walking obediently in the call we have now. God has brought us so far and He has confirmed time and again that we’re on the path he has set before us. While I would love to have a ten year plan, I’m reminded we aren't even promised tomorrow- we must simply surrender daily and follow him.