Easter: recap

With the exception of being in grad school - when I drove to Columbia to go to church with Jenn and we got Chinese take out for lunch (which was awesome by they way) - I've always been with my family on Easter.  This year I didn't hear from my mom inviting me over for lunch or to go fishing or anything.  It was out of the ordinary, but my day ended up being awesome.  I drove to church by myself and figured I might end up sitting by myself, yet I felt really comfortable with that.

My church does a big Easter service out at Boone Hall Plantation and it is really beautiful.  About 4,000 people attend and some plan their vacations to be in Charleston this weekend for the service.  It really is beautiful out there; more than that, though, the service was awesome.  The music was worshipful and happened to included many of my favorite worship songs.  The sermon rocked.  I was reminded how much I really do need the Lord.  How often I want Him to repair the cracks in my life, rather than my foundation.  And, I ended up having the perfect person to sit with during the service.

Over brunch and mimosas with some friends, we toasted things we could each be thankful for.  We were heartfelt and honest.  We laughed a lot.  Afterwards, I was able to get some beach time by myself.  It was super windy, yet still glorious out there.

And then, I headed downtown.  For the past few months, some friends and I have been serving supper to homeless/down and out on Sunday evenings.  We've gotten to know some of the folks pretty well and it's become a highlight of my week.  Yesterday, we brought a full Easter spread and ended up serving more people than ever.  We read from the gospel of Matthew and offered communion afterwards.  We prayed for people and asked the Lord to do big things.

Looking back on my day, it was just about as good as it could get.  No worries over outfits, no commercialism, no fuss, but instead, it was filled with peace and joy.  Christ conquering death always makes me smile; the pain He endured on the cross was masterfully put to shame when He arose out of that tomb.  There is nothing He can't do, and that brings hope in all things.