Picture this: it’s your average Monday, you go into town, you meet up with your friends, and then you remember: you’re dying on Friday. How would you live your life knowing the days you had left were countable on one hand?
Now apply this to the Easter story: Jesus went to Jerusalem the week before the Jewish holiday of Passover began. He spent time out in town and with his friends, yet knew, all the while, that the day of his death was quickly approaching.
Thursday night, the evening before Jesus was killed, he celebrated Passover and a final meal with the disciples. After the meal, he took his typical stroll to an olive grove with his disciples. As he prayed, Jesus cried out to the Lord, “TAKE THIS CUP FROM ME FATHER! Yet, let your will be done, not my own.” The tug of war within himself of wanting to avoid this fatal task, yet also knowing it would save his people must have felt nearly impossible.
Last Thursday night, as I sat watching a movie before bed, I was hit with a sudden wave of sadness and sorrow that was not caused by anything I was doing or experiencing. I went to a quite room in our house and began crying without cause. And then I realized the significance of this date and time in history.
That evening I cried because I finally felt what Jesus felt.
I cried because I’ve experienced tasks from God that seem toobig and toohard and toorisky of failure, but the chance of goodness coming out of it is worth it all.
I cried because I realized that none of my tasks compare to that of Jesus.
I cried because Jesus said “yes and amen”. He said, “I agree, and have Your will be done in me, God.”
Given the fact that i am living many years after Jesus’s death, I know the ending of this story is a good one.
Friday I mourned Jesus’s death, but Saturday I got to prepare for the celebration of his resurrection (brunch preparations), and Sunday I celebrated the freedom that I get to walk in and the gift of never leaving God’s presence again.
This year, I finally experienced Easter the way it happened in history. I experienced the Easter without colorful eggs, peeps, Easter baskets, and pastel colored church dresses, and I honestly think it changed my heart for the better.
I’ve learned from all of my holidays on the race that what’s important isn’t the decorations, outfits, or sweets and food. (although we ate like kings during the holidays)
The most important thing is remembering what the holiday is truly about, and cherishing the people you are with and the love that you share.
Thanks for reading! Only 5 weeks left of the race AAHHH! Keep my team and me in your prayers as we close out our time in Cambodia and this season we’ve spent together.
Many blessings,
Gracie J
