KISS

*Editor’s note: As we approach Easter, I’d like to take this opportunity to reflect on the feelings that one of my friends experienced post-Easter a couple of years ago. One of the questions we must ask ourselves is why Easter is so special. Not only should every Sunday in Lent count as a ‘mini-Easter’ but perhaps every day. I contest that we don’t need a special day to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Our sins are forgiven every day. We receive grace and mercy every day. Jesus want to be our Higher Power every day.

Keep It Simple Silly

We’ve all heard this phrase before.  We get to a point where we are banging our head against the wall–over thinking, over analyzing, over obsessing.  Then, we get a nudge toward simplicity and the fog and chaos clears.  Clarity prevails.  In the days following Easter I have been in a fog of sorts.  I’ve almost felt a let down of sorts in the aftermath of the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection…but why?  A favorite Christian author/speaker/blogger/mom of mine, Lysa Terkeurst captured my muddied feelings spot on in her blog posting this Tuesday (http://lysaterkeurst.com/2013/04/easter-might-you-linger-a-bit-longer/).

But what does Jesus want me to know, to think about, to wrestle through this time? This season of new beginnings? I don’t think Easter is quite done with me yet.

So, I’m lingering here for a bit longer.

I feel like the girl who wears the same outfit to school two days in a row. Easter is a bit done now. Time to put it back in the closet. Only for me it isn’t. I want to wear it again today, tomorrow, and many more tomorrows.

After all, Easter is no longer a ritual to me. It’s a revelation. A time where Jesus splits my soul along the fault line of a scar deep within. I was an unwanted child to my birth dad.

Unwanted.

But to Jesus… I was wanted so much that He gave His life for me. It feels so personal. Even though I know God “so loved the world, He gave His son,” it becomes very individual if we let it.

Be personal.

With Jesus.

Yes.

So, in the midst of a world all putting Easter away, might we let it sit with us for just a bit more?

I keep my Bible open to the place where the angel spoke to the women at the tomb. And I tangle my prayers around His Words from Matthew 28:

“Do not be afraid,”- God, I hand over to You those things that make me so afraid. Resurrect the parts of my faith squelched by fear.

“I know you are looking for Jesus,”- God, when my soul is searching help me know the answer to every longing can be found in You.

“He has risen,”- God, the fact that Jesus is risen should lift my head, my heart, and my attitude. Help me to live today as if I really believe this with every part of my life.

“just as he said,”- Jesus, You keep Your promises. Help me live as though I believe that with every part of me. Help me trust You more, obey You more, and resemble You more.

“Come and see,”- Jesus, You had the angels invite the women in to see for themselves that You had risen. You invite me into these personal revelations everyday. Forgive me that I sometimes rush about and forget to come and see for myself… You, Your Word, Your insights.

“Then go quickly and tell his disciples,”- Jesus, I don’t want to be a secret keeper with my faith. I want to be a bold and gracious truth proclaimer. For You. With You. Because of You. Me, the unwanted girl who You loved, redeemed, and wanted.

An ongoing struggle of mine is guilt and shame–why in the world does God love me this much?  Why in the world would God sacrifice His son–for me?  And yet, there He is day after day, moment after moment waiting expectantly for me to open myself up to Him so that He may simply POUR. LOVE. INTO. ME. Who am I to question why?  None of us deserve this love or can do ‘stuff’ to increase this love or do ‘stuff’ to lose this love…but boy do we try to complicate this gift in our minds!  We try to wrap our own interpretations around it and see it through our own filter.  Keep it simple silly.  Accept this love as a child accepts love–freely, expectantly, wholly…joyously.  Then share it.

My six year old son drew [a] picture tonight.

He told me, ‘This is Jesus on the cross and he was thirsty and this knight gave him water. Jesus loves us and he didn’t die. He lives forever.”

Simple. Truth. The love of the Lord through the mouth of a babe.

Luke 18:15-17 People brought babies to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed him off. Jesus called them back. “Let these children alone. Don’t get between them and me. These children are the kingdom’s pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.”

– Ellie K.

*For further information of what the phrase ‘Keep it Simple’ means in the world of recovery, check out Chapter 9 of How Al-Anon Works for Families & Friends of Alcoholics.