Resurrection Sunday

I believe Easter Sunday is the most important day in the Christian calendar, even more so than Christmas. Before coming to faith in Christ, Easter weekend was one of Easter bunnies and egg hunts. Of course, this was when my children were younger. Even as they became teenagers and young adults, I would give them chocolate of some kind. But it's not about chocolate, the bunny, or Easter eggs, is it?

The trajectory changed with the Resurrection. Jesus took the punishment that was meant for us and conquered death when he rose from the dead. We are no longer slaves to sin. While we still sin, we are not bound by it; we are free! It's a difficult concept sometimes to really get your head around, but when you understand by faith, it is truly freeing. 

We took our grandchildren to see the animated film, King of Kings. It was a touching and thoughtful film about a father (Charles Dickens) sharing the story of Christ with his young son Walter, who understands and experiences it for the first time. The movie was scripturally accurate, without being too graphic for young children. 

When we left the movie, my granddaughter asked me if I cried when Jesus died. I said to her while I felt sad that Jesus had to die on Good Friday, it was the Resurrection that brought me to tears. Thankfulness of the sacrifice He made on our behalf so we can live in eternity with Him. I explained that I'm so thankful for what Jesus did that we not only get to go to heaven and to be with Him, but we will see Mama (Jessica) again, while explaining that we all still have a lot of living to do until then.  

Since the children attend a Catholic school, they have a general understanding of Christ's death and Resurrection, so it's not a foreign concept. I'm thankful they will continue to have that teaching throughout, at least their elementary years, but it is up to the adults in their life to reinforce the teachings of Jesus. Teaching is not our only responsibility; we must serve as a living example of the One who gave His life for me.  

Following Christ is not a guarantee of an easy life (by far!) but having that foundation for my grandchildren will hopefully give them the support and comfort they need in this complicated world.  

"Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it." Proverbs 22:6

#Kingofkings #theResurrection #betheexample 

The Paradox

This is a photo a family member sent to me. While it is a beautiful depiction of my daughter as a new mother, it made me feel like I had hit a brick wall. 

All three of my grandchildren were born at Victoria Hospital in London, and I had the privilege of witnessing each one of them come into the world. It was always a place of such wonderful experiences and memories, that is, until 2023.

Much of the latter part of that year, my girl spent at this hospital, in a room that looks very much like this photo. How can a place of great joy also be a place of great grief and sorrow? It's a hospital, and of course, it can and does. It's the great paradox of life. We go through each of those experiences and everything in between, be it divorce, betrayal, job loss, or death.

As I grasp for meaning in this season of my life, I wonder how those without faith can even manage from day to day. I've had days when I didn't want to get out of bed, see or talk to people, or pray—or rather, I couldn't pray, let alone read my Bible. I'm thankful God has walked with me.

While I have moved through some of those chapters of grief and sorrow, I still find myself returning to them from time to time. Is it a safe place for me to be? Perhaps yes, perhaps no, but that's my grief journey.

Receiving that photo took me back to an earlier chapter. The room looked almost identical to the one on the oncology floor where she spent so much time in the summer of 2023. If I really looked at the picture closely, it also resembled the room on the palliative floor where she spent her last few days on this earth.

But when I look at the smiling face of my baby girl as a new mom, it is evidence of the most joyous times of her life. It was a period when she discovered how much she loved being a mom. God gifted her with an incredible heart on the day H was born. She blossomed as a mom. Even though her time as a mother on this earth was cut short, I pray that the roots she instilled in her children will flourish with our help.

When I look again at that smiling face, it reminds me of the smile she often had in that hospital room on the oncology floor. Even when she may not have felt the best, she always greeted visitors and hospital staff alike with a smile and an outreached hand. She always wanted to hold my hand when I came in. I loved that. She would ask the staff how their day was going and how their family was, and compliment their hair or what they were wearing. She gave and gave love and joy to those around her. She shone and shared the love of Jesus,

So, while I was initially shocked and saddened when I saw the similarity of the hospital room, once I looked at the joy on Jessica's face, God reminded me of the blessing she was to not only me but her children and anyone who came into her presence. The blessing of the time we all had with her.

The joy and pride she brought to me as her mom are not just a memory, but a fixture of reality in my current day-to-day life; I turn to them often. I pray I can carry the blessing she gave me and pay it forward to others.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NLT

Angels Among Us

Yesterday, I received a phone call from the secretary at my granddaughter's school. She needed a change of clothes due to the wet playground. My granddaughter is a rough-and-tumble girl like her Mama was at that age.  H will come home with rips and worn-out areas on the knees of her pants. It certainly evokes memories!

I picked up a change of clothes and went over to the school. When H was called to the office, she walked in with her little friend "F."  While H went into the washroom to change her clothes, F introduced herself to me.  This is an 8-year-old who seemed to have the maturity of a very small adult in some ways.  After she introduced herself to me, she shared that she was H's best friend and that they had been friends since grade one, when H started at the school. She went on to tell me that when H is sad, she works to help her not to be sad.  

I was moved by this small adult showing such amazing compassion.  She didn't say why H might be sad, and truthfully, I found it interesting that that was the second thing she shared with me. Perhaps she knew I was "grandma" and the mom of H's mom, dealing with my own sadness. F wanted to reassure me that H has a friend who cares for her. She may not have realized that completely, but she felt comfortable enough to share it with someone she had just met. 

Whatever the case, this eight-year-old seems to have the intuitiveness and compassion that goes beyond her years.  Is she one of the angels the writer of Hebrews is talking about in Hebrews 13:2?

"Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!" Hebrews 13:2 NLT

After F shared this, I said to her, "You are a good friend, and you have a very kind heart."  She nodded in agreement. Whether or not F is an angel or simply a child with a God-given gift of mercy and compassion that is manifesting at a very young age, I was touched by her kindness.  

I suspect H is open with her friend.  Her personality is similar to that of her mother, as well as my own. We are an open book.  I also suspect that H is sad at times.  This 8-year-old sweet girl has lost her mother. Her foundation, her rock. 

I looked at H's picture last night, and it hit me that she will not have her mama at her wedding.  That triggered my tear-response. Mourning the memories that will never be made. 

The goal is to make new memories in honour of her Mama and keep Jessica alive in her heart and mind. 

But first and foremost, I want to reinforce the love of Jesus to H and my grandsons. I want to reassure them that in times of sadness, Christ is there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to provide comfort for those who mourn. Of course, when they need to feel Jesus in the flesh, He sends a little girl with the biggest, kindest heart to show that kind of love and comfort. 

"God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Matthew 5:4 NLT