The cracks are where the light gets in, and she has opened her cracks so wide that the light spills out and warms the shadowy cracks in me …

So, when God says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you…” (Jeremiah 29:13-14a NIV), is he hiding from us and waiting to be found? Is he a game playing God? Does this mean God is somewhere other than right here and right now with us that we would have to hunt for him?

Checklists can make even something as simple as making the bed feel satisfying. After my mom passed away, I found myself—as usual—making lists. Plan some kind of simple family memorial (she passed during covid)—check. Sort through her things and clean out her apartment—check. Arrange for donation pick up, write a eulogy, pick up her ashes, cancel subscriptions, close her bank account—check, check, and check. A pretty standard list of tasks to be completed when a loved one passes. But I discovered I also had another list.

To live in the truth of Easter Sunday is to allow ourselves to be elevated to a vantage point where vision is calibrated by the truth of God's Word, hearts are tuned to the voice of the Spirit, and hands are held ready to serve at the pleasure of the King …

Hoping and waiting go hand in hand. We see this truth throughout God’s Word. Even from an earthly standpoint, hoping means waiting! If we aren’t in a position of waiting for what is hoped for, then we have either already obtained it, or it’s not worth waiting for. The challenge for us as followers of Jesus is to continually deposit all we hope for into the capable hands of our Living Hope, and then—like Mary Magdalene, Salome, and the other Mary—wait.

Imagine Jesus entering the garden at night. It’s dark, cool, maybe a little damp. Even his robes feel heavy with the weight of dread and sadness …

We don’t know what he was thinking or feeling, but we do know this: when he heard that it was Jesus, he cried out—and when those around him told him to settle down and be quiet, he cried out even more. What does this indicate? Belief. Faith …

… like many others I’m sure, I am limping a bit into 2022—a little battered and somewhat depleted …But just under the cloudy gray surface is an undercurrent of anticipation, a whisper of hope.

This trip had all the makings of a sad one. But it wasn’t. I attribute that to the mercy and goodness of God. He ordained the timing, orchestrated the circumstances, and provided the people. He paved the way.