Where joy and sorrow meet…

Greetings to you the day after Easter!

I truly hope you experienced the celebration of the Resurrection in a way that was meaningful to you however it went down.

Ours was different from what I would have pictured or planned for this season of our lives, if I can be honest.

All three of our adult children had places to be that were not here, which gave us the needed opening to travel to see Russ’s dad.

We did get to sneak in a pre-Easter visit with these little treasures…

on the way west.

We got to have dinner with Dad…

and then watched a little basketball before turning in early because…speaking of early…

we hit the 6:30 AM sunrise service and pancake breakfast at one of the churches near Dad’s facility.

And let me just tell you that “sunrise” was a misnomer…because if the sun did rise yesterday….

it was blanketed behind thick gray skies.

We spent some time with Russ’s dad and then headed home with a stop in Iowa City to visit a friend.

She is tucked away in a labyrinth of hallways and medical equipment as she faces her giant with prayer and faith.

After we visited Russ prayed for her and we drove the rest of the way in rain.

The power was off when we got home, so we lit candles and unloaded the car and were just about to escape to a restaurant for warmth, food and March Madness when the lights came on.

More pizza…

apparently Pizza is the new Ham and Cheesy Potatoes of Easter.

I finally felt brave enough to check Facebook and all the smiling faces of families and friends…but with a tender heart because I know with each photo there are stories behind the smiles.

There are loved ones in hospice, spouses who had to work and miss the party.

There are hurts and wounds and wanderings.

And there is GRACE…

and MERCY…

enough for every wound…

every hurt…

every wanderer…

And that is what Easter is for.

And we receive that abundant outpouring of mercy and grace like a child…

The reason Emmett isn’t digging into his basket is because he spent several minutes surveying what we had brought.

He kept taking in the overflowing buckets and then he would look at Papi and me and say with wonder and amazement as he patted his little chest…

“All dis??? for us????”

That’s you and me at the Cross, my friend…

in the midst of all that is going on around us…

in the midst of suffering and trials…

we look at the Cross and the love and forgiveness and grace and mercy that flows from our Savior…

we pound our chests and marvel….

All of this?? was for US????

Hallelujah!

Yes indeed…all….ALL … for us <3