So my birthday was a little different this year… Even the way I was reflective was a little different. Usually around my birthday I begin reminiscing, and look back over my life and see if I met the standard, met the goals, met the expectations… I am very reflective already, but around my birthday I get a little more sappy than usual. But this year was different!
Turning 42 in quarantine was something I was not looking forward to at all. Now let me clarify, I LOVE MY BIRTHDAY, and I always look forward to birthdays. But this year was different because I already knew that being with my favorite people would be a challenge, and I’m used to BIG BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS! And this year my two favorite days were colliding, Easter and my birthday fell on the same day. I have had a few of these “two in one” celebrations in my lifetime. When my birthday shares the day we celebrate the RISEN ONE there is a sacredness and joy in the day that I can’t explain. And what was most shocking about having to celebrate Easter and my birthday a little different this year, was that I felt more aware of every moment, every sacred detail…
How many of you have Easter traditions? I mean things you have done your whole life! I know; me too! And this year I was trying to cling to some of the most sacred parts of how we celebrate the Risen Savior! I mean how do we separate ourselves? How do we set this day apart in order to honor the most holy day of all time? How do we ourselves become holy in order and different when we are all under the SAME mandate? And I mean, our entire nation, told to stay home… no one can “go to church” in order to be set apart. How do we set ourselves apart when the very way we identify ourselves as “Church Going Christians” in our “Sunday Best” has been taken from us? I mean who sees us when we watch sermons online? Does it really feel like Easter if I stay in my PJ's all day? And how do we as followers of Jesus celebrate Resurrection Sunday and fight against the enemy wanting it to be just another day….
You see the problem with “just another day” is that the day that Jesus rose himself to life isn’t just an ordinary day… It isn’t like one of our birthdays that we decide not to celebrate. This day marks a moment in time when Jesus totally defeated death, fulfilling every promise ever made to mankind, and by conquering the grave He gave us access to eternity. I mean this isn’t just any ordinary Sunday! This is a world shaking, life altering, and mountain moving kind of day! This is a momentous occasion and our response to this Holy Day is to not only acknowledge this day, but to make it sacred and set apart. And this year, with the ways we gather, celebrate, and worship a bit more challenging, I know I personally found myself more aware and eager to make not Easter just another day.
I woke up extra early on April 12th; I had looked up when the sun would rise. Sunrise would begin at 7:20 am… I remember as a child we would have a Sunrise Service on Easter, and it was something miraculous. Watching the sun come up as the Preacher was reading from the bible and then our voices carrying into the heavens like a choir, singing hymns and memorized songs… There would always be tears as I imagined the Risen Savior, bursting with light and life out of the tomb. Leaving behind the man made garments in exchange for His Heavenly clothes, bright and shining! I mean, who wouldn’t get emotional thinking about Jesus raising Himself back to life. And there in my backyard, with sleepy eyes and a groggy voice I read from Matthew, realizing once again that My Savior is no longer in the tomb. He truly has risen and tears streamed my face… I could barely sing, my broken notes carrying up to the heavens, and in that broken moment I felt so alive! I was so grateful that I had been given the opportunity to worship in spirit and in truth. And in the moment when the sun filled the sky I could hear… “Happy birthday my daughter… this is the moment for which you have been created.”
That was the beginning of one of the most memorable birthdays of my life… All day I felt seen and loved by those who brought front door goodies and gifts. I was serenaded with some of my favorite birthday songs, a parade of cars passed in front of my house, and of course you can’t have a birthday without cake. There were gifts and cards; there were sweet treats and messages. I mean, it was a special day. I can’t think of a more heartfelt attempt to make my day so meaningful. All of these precious memories happened alongside sacred Easter traditions and holy moments…
And this year Easter was more sacred and beautiful, even in the middle of a pandemic. I won the fight against the ordinary, and stepped into extraordinary! I found my own personal ways to keep traditions and to help my daughters find holy moments in the middle of challenging times. And I am reminded that there is a cloud of witnesses watching to see how we will awaken to the revival set before us. Will we arise?
I pray we will, one day at a time, one sacred moment at a time, finding our own personal ways to keep them holy…
"Perhaps this is the moment which you have been created..." Esther 4:14