Easter Week

I had two pretty powerful experiences over the weekend, one being the Women's Gathering at church, where some women who are going through some tough circumstances shared how God has been their Rock and Refuge during their storms. One of the women shared from Habakkuk 3, which lists all the things that are going wrong for the prophet, but he vows to still "rejoice in the God of His salvation" (Hab. 3:18).

The other meaningful experience this weekend was at my parents' church downtown. It was called "Celebrate Life: An Easter Music Celebration" (if any of you who are reading grew up Baptist in the 70s, you might remember this musical written by Ragan Courtney and Cynthia Clawson). It included music, drama, and the beautiful interpretive dancing done by a Christian ballet group called "Ballet Magnificat." The musical is a telling of the life of Christ, from the foretelling of his birth, to his death and resurrection. The Lord's Supper and the crucifixion scenes made me pause once again to consider the enormity of what Christ did for me and then the following scenes about his resurrection brought out the familiar joy and excitement that I have felt every Easter ever since I was a child. The choir sang, "He's alive, He's alive! He IS alive!" and eventually the congregation was invited to sing along.

I am working this week on the details related to the five worship services at our church this coming weekend (2 on Good Friday and 3 on Easter Sunday), and am also participating in the choir for these services. It will be a busy week, but my hope and prayer is that I will not lose sight of the true meaning of what Christ did for us on the cross. I want to have joy in my heart as I work and sing and remember that He IS alive!