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Listen while you read: "Were You There"1
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Luke 24:5b-7 – Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn't here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day. (NLT)
One Easter Sunday in Alaska when I was very small, we opened our front door and a wall of snow higher than the house looked back at us. There was no use digging through it. All the way out to the street would be just as deep. We'd have to wait for the plow that was not available on that holiday.
The "we" were tiny stair-step sisters wearing our new bonnets that tied under the chin. We had to go to church, certainly to show off how cute we were and to say our pieces for the children's Easter program. My lisping youngest sister had learned her recitation: "De Wobin said, Good chewe, (cheer) good chewe. Spwing has come and Eastow's hewe!"
Mother believed that there were many things that would cause God's love to screech to a halt where Christians were concerned. Missing church was one of them, along with the usual list added onto the Ten Commandments like punctuation: the wearing of lipstick or earrings, dancing, drinking, smoking, more or less having a good time in general, and especially divorce — all the old familiar sins by which she judged any neighbours still speaking to us.
Her fiery fury at the possibility of staying home was enough to get my father digging out the back door to the dog sled, hitch up the dogs, strap us all on and somehow get us to the church, a few blocks away.
Yet, what was Easter even about? Not showing up all dressed up, but God's grace and love for us when we acknowledged that we were sinners and asked for God's forgiveness and help, because of the cross and the resurrection!
Mother said that God's offer of forgiveness and salvation through Christ could be accepted only once. If we committed any of the many sins on her list, His love would be gone immediately, unless we begged, pleaded, and fasted, again and again.
It was very difficult to figure out how to grow in the Christian life with such a set of beliefs. "Oh well. No rest for the wicked," she'd say, directly contradicting "Come unto Me and I will give you rest."
Yet, the Bible teaches us that we can never reach the bottom of God's love.
Mother was sincere. I'll surely see her in heaven. But she missed out on the peace that God gives us, through faith.
Fortunately, the gospels are very clear about what happened at Easter: Christ's death and resurrection; that because He lives, we shall live also; that here on earth, we can walk with the living Lord as our Saviour, through the trials and temptations of this pilgrim journey, bearing our crosses as He did and finding Him faithful and just. Easter is all about what God did to save us, not what we can do to save ourselves. What a good, satisfying existence it is, listening, trusting, and obeying, day by day.
Prayer: We are grateful, loving Father, for the fresh courage that You give from the clouds that continuously break over our heads. Thank You that we do not judge by feeble sense but trust You always for Your grace which comes clearest to us in Christ's resurrection to eternal life, in which You promise that we shall share. Thank You for Your mysterious ways becoming clearer as we walk in faith today. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
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About the author:
Rose DeShaw <rise370@gmail.com>
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
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Thank you.
Thank you, dear Rose, for this message.
Wishing you a blessed and Holy Easter.
Thank you for your timely post and beautiful prayer, Rose. God bless and Happy Easter!
Amen and amen, my friend. Indeed, because he lives, we shall live with God forever! Blessings.
Thank you, Rose. Your list of “sins” brought memories of my family’s list when I was little. Praise God for forgiveness.
Dear Rose,
Blessed Easter to you. Thank you many times over for your devotionals. This one was particularly meaningful to me.
Rose, such a wonderfully clear declaration of the WONDERFUL LOVE of God and the salvation that He offers and the freedom of a forgiven life through His presence. Thank you. HE IS RISEN!
Goodness, Rose, how did you become the person that you are? You are so obviously different than your Mother, who you loved but obviously came to understand.
Thank you for this very meaningful devotional and a blessed Easter to you and those you love.
Well written and poignant. I feel as if I was there with you. Certainly helps me clarify my beliefs in amidst this time of strife in the Church. I liked the description of “stair-step sisters” the alliteration of “fiery fury” and the sister with the lisp.
Thanks.
Hi Rose,
Thanks for this. I too realize my parents missed out on so much peace for many reasons. At least I never doubted their love for me. Over the years I’ve come realize how many folks never experienced this love from their parents.
Amen Rose!
How dreadful to think that if we sinned after conversion that we’re out … as that would mean no one could get to heaven!
Have a wonderful Easter.
Blessings.
Greetings Rose and many thanks for this beautiful and deeply encouraging devotional you have given us today. I always look forward to your writings and enjoy hearing about your childhood happenings. The situation you reflected on today about the mass of snow at the door entrance surely was a memorable sight for you. Lord’s blessings for your writings.
I can almost feel the coldness of your Alaska Easter — especially after our extremely unseasonable snow a few days ago here in the Pacific Northwest. (The last time it snowed this late in the year was over 80 years ago!) I could also feel the chill in your mom’s strict, rigid Christianity. Praise God for His grace in forgiving our sins and receiving us as repentant sinners. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
Our mothers must have grown up in the same system. My mother grew up in the brethren tradition that structured her belief system. She had a rich faith, and yet her upbringing became her lens. The day she found out her oldest granddaughter (our daughter) was engaged to a Catholic was too much. To God’ grace He took before the wedding.
A wedding presided by my son-in-law’s uncle (Catholic Priest and myself a Presbyterian minister).
Nevertheless God is gracious. Blessings on your family this Easter
Thank you Rose. My growing up was without religious prohibitions. I got to Sunday school occasionally. It would have been different, I think, if my mother had lived to raise us. Our church experience was very hit-miss. But somehow, in the death of my mother, God met my need and I yearned for more of Him. How different our lives can be, but we end up in much the same place: loving Him dearly and humbled by His mercy and grace to us and by His unending love for us. How deep, how wide, how high is that Love! Have a blessed Easter! The victory is ours.
Good morning, Rose,
Literally you did mean “one cold Easter”. I believe that your mother’s faith is what had been taught to her and she truly believed it was the truth. Times change and what is preached changes also. The Bible stays the same. If only we all read the Bible and could grasp the love that Jesus has for all the world.
The sadness of Good Friday is replaced by the happiness of Easter Sunday. We know that Jesus rises from the tomb. The early believers did not know because they had trouble grasping such a concept at that time.
I believe it is similar to how hard it is for us to grasp Revelations to be stirred on the reach out to non-believers of the importance of accepting Jesus as our Saviour. It might be in the next second, but we put off sometimes doing what God desires us to do.
May you and your family have a blessed Easter and thank you for sharing your thoughts with others. Blessings.
Dear Rose, I knew this was you as soon as I started reading. Your faith throughout all the trials in your life is a constant blessing. I know God is with you in your current experiences.