Easter

On Thursday night, I was able to attend a Seder presented by one of the churches here in Maadi. I'm not going to lie, the Seder is one of my favorite times of the year. When I heard one was happening here, it took everything I had not to geek out on the spot. I've had some pretty great experiences with them and was pretty excited about this one as well. While I could write a whole post on past Seder experiences (because I did and just deleted it - you're welcome), I'll stick with this year's evening. This one had its own significance. You see, living in Egypt just becomes your new normal. It's easy to forget where you are and just slip into your daily routine. That is, until you realize you are where the original passover occurred. It kind of takes your breath away. Nope. Not kind of. It completely takes your breath away.

The thing I love about the Seder is what it meant for years and generations to come. In one night, a feast was established to help a people remember not only what happened but to look forward to a day when redemption would come. Through the remembrances of tears and pain, there was the promise of rescue - the hope to come. Now, thousands of years later, some still wait but for those of us who believe, we have Easter. Our anticipation has been fulfilled and exchanged for so much more. This exchange is the meaning of Easter for me.

Just as Christ took the passover meal and used it to establish a new feast, communion, he does that with our lives. He exchanged his place in perfection to meet us where we are. Just as he turned the bitterness of passover into joyful rememberance, he does this with our individual lives. I know. Just as I've seen his faithfulness to fulfill promises to his people over generations, I've seen him take the hard bits of my small life and turn it in to so much more. For all intents and purposes, this beautiful life I have should not be. If left on my own, I have few ideas of where I would be instead. It's not pretty. Thankfully, he did not leave me to myself. I went from this emmaciated, girl full of pasted on smiles to hide the pain (but fooled no one).....

...to this:

My life is by no means perfect but it is pretty incredible. It's his way, this story of redemption. This is my Jesus:

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion - to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit, that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified." - Isaiah 61:1 - 3.

Happy Easter!