Easter Hope

I received some very bad news yesterday. The news I received is very personal so I can't share, but it rivals Cecilia's cancer in its power to hurt and overwhelm my heart. But, this news has to do with a different kind of cancer. A cancer which originated not on a medical, cellular level, rather a cancer caused by an addiction to sin. Both are devastating to not only the ones directly affected but also to those who love them. And, I love the one who is addicted to sin very much and so my heart hurts deeply for this one and the ones that have been directly affected by the reprecussions of his sin.

I walked around yesterday completely dazed and confused that this could be happening to this person. I was shocked to say the least. All day I teared up at even the minutest little things. I'm sure being 34 weeks pregnant doesn't help with that either. I didn't feel like mustering up the energy to do much of anything, so I was lazy, late, and teary eyed most of the day. We had practice for our Easter Musical last night. If it had not been the final dress rehearsal, I most certainly would have skipped. But, I gathered the boys together and met Erik there. . . 15 minutes late. Erik is the "comfortable in the spotlight" member of our relationship. I balance out the scales by being the epitome of a wallflower. I like to hide myself in the crowd - absolutely no speaking parts, and I sing so soft even the people around me have never actually heard my voice. Every year Erik plays Jesus, and I play the illustrious role of a member of the crowd in Jerusalem.

So, when I got there, I snuck across the dark stage to take my place among the crowd. Then to my surprise, something somewhat unexpected happened as I began to sing. Songs that I have sung for the past 2 months suddenly had words that I heard and understood. The opening song has these words, "And the whole world cries 'Hosanna, God save us,' and the heavens replied and called His name Jesus." And, I couldn't hold back the tears.

As much as I absolutely detest being made aware of how vulnerable we are to sin and how deep, dark, and ugly sin is, it always brings me to the same place. When faced with the news of this sin cancer lurking in the life of one that I love, I saw with sudden clarity once again how very desperately we, weak and frail as we are, are in need of a savior. And, my heart cried out with the music of that opening song, "God save us!" Because, by golly, we need a savior. Save us from ourselves, save us from the sin and evil that is rampant in this world where we live.

We have hope. The world would have us believe that certain things will be devastating to us our entire life. But, Jesus doesn't agree. He says that is a lie, and we can, in fact, have victory. And, so I walked away from Easter Musical practice with a new outlook. We have hope and His name is Jesus. And, I am so thankful.