thrilling/exhilarating/exhausting/challenging

today is "easter tuesday." yesterday was "easter monday." most people refer to the day before that as "easter sunday." to be more accurate, it was the first sunday of easter, for easter is a season, not a day. for Christians, every sunday is "a little easter," and the sundays between now and pentecost in june are "second sunday of easter," etc.

that being said, there is always something special about easter day. there is an ethusiasm, a joy, a spirit in worship and everything else in church that day that is somehow different. thinking about it, it probably should not be that way-- church should always be a celebration. maybe it was the handbells ringing, the children singing, singing those classic easter hymns... but i felt great after worship on sunday. i was thrilled.

following worship we went to some dear friends' home to enjoy easter fellowship with their family. normally following worship i like to retreat into my house, exhausted from the effort that goes into sunday worship. but that easter joy kept feeding my soul. after that i spent part of the evening visiting some folks who came to church that day, to introduce myself and get to know them better. i was way out of my comfort zone, and i loved it. that was exhilarating.

yesterday, as i said, was easter monday, a holiday in canada. our office was closed. every church ought to be closed on easter monday, just to step back and take a deep breath after the events of holy week and easter. our secretary talked about sitting in a quiet house with her husband at work and kids in school. not so in the drenner household! christy was sick all day, which meant i was in charge of the boys. that's ok, but combined with tiredness from sunday and it being tax day it was very exhausting.

this morning i was blessed to attend the annual central dallas ministries prayer breakfast. the keynote speaker was john edwards, former senator from north carolina, former presidential candidate, former vice presidential candidate. senator edwards' "calling card" issue has always been poverty. his campaign was the only one to speak of "the two americas," focusing on poverty as a major moral issue in our country. he reminded us that in this richest, most powerful nation in history 26 million folk live in poverty. he was right to call it immoral. we were challenged.

that breakfast, and other events rapidly unfolding in my life which i will write about next week, remind me of the real power of easter. the message of hope and resurrection is wonderful to celebrate on the day; but it is the ability to hold on to that message that makes life incredible, not just ordinary. i went from thrilled on sunday morning to exhausted monday evening, squeezing in tax preparation inbetween. following that i was challenged to make the world a better place for our neighbors. through all the emotion and weariness was the gospel of Jesus Christ, inspiring every Christian, including me. he is risen indeed!

Comments