earlier last week, a couple of us were talking with some of the interns here at el refugio (there are interns from the states, ecuador & colombia here). we asked them what they do for easter, and they replied with “what’s easter? I mean, I think there’s a service up at the cross on sunday that we can go to”.
instantly, my mind was filled with easter back in the states. probably an egg bake for breakfast, then off to church, and church is followed with family pictures and me forcing Macy to take our traditionally-forced “hugging picture”. often we have a big lunch causing us all to end up on the couch stuffed with food trying to escape food comas. by this time, we have more than likely all changed out of our “nice clothes” and are in “comfy clothes.” later, we have a small easter egg hunt around the house and look for our easter baskets. typical hiding spots in the past include the dryer, dishwasher, in the coffee table cupboard or the closet in the guest room.
throughout the week it was constantly rolling through my mind, is easter really not a big thing in ecuador? a country where the primary religion is catholic and they don’t have big easter celebrations? que la heck!?
it wasn’t until friday that I understood. because of covid (the cases in ecuador are slightly rising), the country is on a mini “shut down”. we were driving through Quito and there was a drawing of what looked like a KKK member but with purple robes. we were told that its not actually the KKK sign, but a tradition around easter time. hundreds and thousands of people normally fill the streets of Quito holding crosses and form a huge “parade”. once we got back to el refugio, i did some more research what easter looks like in ecuador. from what i gathered, there are usually many significant religious celebrations. this year however, to protect people from getting the virus, those celebrations were not happening.
okay, makes sense.
but when i woke up this morning i was sad. it wasn’t easter if i wasn’t with my family. it’s one thing to not experience the typical celebrations in ecuador, but now i wasn’t even going to get to do the things i normally do back home. it was like a fake easter.
wrong.
it’s still easter. it’s still sunday. Jesus still rose from the freakin’ grave. the tomb was still empty today. no matter if I’m in prescott, oshkosh, ecuador, or on a small deserted island.
even though it was different than “normal”, it’s still been a day of rejoicing and happiness!
we walked partway up the mountain to the cross and had a service with the staff and interns of el refugio. we took family pictures– don’t worry, Macy; Abby filled in for our hugging picture. i journaled and listened to music before lunch, had lunch with everyone and we all talked about our families easter traditions. then I watched the Passion City church service with Abby. I ate a piece of chocolate and called it my easter chocolate. I facetimed my family for a bit before the wifi cut out..lol.
so what is easter? do you think of the big family gatherings, or the food, or easter egg hunts? the traditions? cause yeah, me too.
but in reality, none of those actually matter. what matters is that CHRIST IS RISEN. and we get an entire day to declare that and declare our belief in Christ. like He no longer is dead from our sins, He is so alive. and we have full access to Him. He has offered us complete, inside out transformation.
so, with however much longer is left of your easter sunday…i encourage you to maybe take a break from the easter traditions. you might be alone, or with 25 other people at work, or with your family. maybe instead of staying within the “normal” easter activities, take a second to really reflect on how beautiful it is that Christ has risen.
what does that mean to you? maybe watch a different church service (I know, that’s kinda risky. watching a church different than “YOUR” church), or read the resurrection story in the Bible. or listen to some worship music. or take a walk and talk to Abba for a bit. thats what I’m gonna do.
happy easter 🙂
mucho amor,
hulia
