I love Easter! It's a day to reflect on what God has done for us through the sending of His Son over 2000 years ago. It was a sacrifice none of us deserve, yet God loved us enough to do it. Yesterday morning John got home from working a 24 hour shift at Pike County Ambulance District in Louisiana. He arrived home at 8am, and in record time we were ready to go to church at 9:15. Pretty good timing for two adults and one toddler (Mac even had time to look through her eggs left by the Easter bunny).
We decided yesterday morning to drive to Columbia and attend the Easter service at Woodcrest. We've had a hard time lately finding a church we really feel is home. I think we'll be doing a lot of "church shopping" in the next couple months. We know we won't find another Woodcrest up here, but we would love to find something that is close to how much we loved going there. The Easter service at Woodcrest was always my favorite service of the year when we lived in Fulton. We had almost talked ourselves out of driving the hour and a half there Sunday morning until my Mom told me Saturday night that my brother loved the Easter service. Andrew went to one of the Saturday evening services and told my mom it was "awesome." I knew then we had to go.
The minute we stepped in the doors at Woodcrest I breathed a sigh of relief! It was just like going back home--going back to a place I felt so comfortable, so loved, so moved by God. As we walked into the sanctuary, Mackenna started kicking her feet and laughing--she knew where she was. We hadn't been back in 7 months, and yet this little girl knew exactly where she was. As we were coming in the door we saw one of our good friends, Lori. Her husband is the worship pastor, and in all honesty, he has to be the best one I've ever seen! Lori couldn't believe how big Mackenna had gotten and she was so happy we'd made the trip. She told us we wouldn't be disappointed in the service.
The next hour and a half did my soul so much good! In the last month we've been struggling emotionally as we've watched our family torn apart by an impending divorce. John and I have talked a lot about things, and we're so grateful for the marriage we do have even though it's not perfect. There have been some very raw emotions that have been exposed, and some hurtful things that have been said as anyone can imagine who has seen family members deal with a situation such as this. The service yesterday kind of freed a lot of that for me. Some animosity I held inside me melted away, as it did for John. I think we both feel much more at peace than we had.
Most of the service yesterday was actually music. During one part of the service these blocks of sayings started coming up on the video screens in the front of the church. The gist of it was that even though our world is not safe and we are created to feel hypocrisy and judgement for others, God is bigger than all that. He lives in us, and His love for us makes the hard facets of life more bearable. We become better people because of His undying devotion to us and our willingness to serve Him.
The band played so many great songs yesterday, yet the one that had the most impact on John and I was "How Great is Our God." Shortly after they started singing, a man a couple rows in front of us stood up. Then everyone started to stand up. It was in that moment of praising God that tears just started to flow. As I held my sleeping child, I thought about how truly Great God is. To have a child in my arms that I had only dreamed about, to have the husband I have, to have God know me intricately and to have His Grace--it was just so overwhelming to experience it all at one time. I looked at John and saw tears in his eyes as well. To know that your husband is moved by God as much as you are is one of the greatest gifts any wife can have. We are so glad we took the time to drive to Columbia yesterday--it was so worth it!!
John also made another discovery yesterday. We sat pretty far up in the front of the sanctuary--farther up than I really like to be b/c it can be loud when the praise band plays. Yet Mackenna didn't seem to mind. She danced in our seat, she clapped her hands, she laughed, and she watched it all! She didn't mind the volume of the music. When Piet, the pastor, started to speak she actually got a little irritated because she wanted the music to play again. In the midst of all the music, she actually fell asleep. John said he had an epiphany. We owe Mackenna's love of music to Chris Mitchell. When I was pregnant, I could always feel Mackenna move around when we went to church. She seemed to be the most active during those times. And then to see her yesterday, in her element, was really neat. She loves music so much--I guess Chris and the band probably do need to get most of the credit for that!
Hope all of you had a blessed Easter!
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