My Big Fat Easter Weekend

Some people live blog. I’m not that addicted. Wipe the smirk off your face. I’ve jotted down notes before, while in the midst of family and friends, so as not to forget funny lines and meaningful moments. I keep a little notepad by my bed, so if I wake in the middle of the night and a blog title pops in my head, I can jot it down. Lower your eyebrow.

Having said all that … I know you might be expecting a big, fat, funny, and fabulous post. So am I.

My high started the minute I pulled straight into the Gerali driveway late Saturday afternoon. Although, I started to feel a bit euphoric when I hardly had to tap my brakes, on the 3 and ¼ hour drive.

Church at the 7500 seat world renowned Willow Creek, felt like Bill Hybels came over for happy hour and helped us solve all the world’s problems. In a nutshell, and he had the icons to help drive home these four points.
1. Icon – a simple question mark.
2. Icon – Circle of Friends Sculpture
3. Icon – Giant shower head
4. Icon - A simple fish.

Key points.
1. We were created with a hole in our hearts. A God sized hole. Just as the crew on Apollo 13, we can try to fix the leak on our own. We have questions that need answers, and we can scour the earth in search of “it” when in reality, only the God sized redemptive plan and faith-based solution can fill the gap. It’s the Christmas, Easter, and Greatest Story ever told.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16 & 17

2. We were created to be together. In relationships. To be in a community. We were not meant to be alone. I guess that’s why walking back into Willow for the first time in maybe 10 years felt like I was coming home. Community. It can be as simple as a sports team bond, to a lifelong vow of marriage. It must be community that makes a wedding reception underneath the Michigan stars or an Indiana field, hold a corner of my heart in captive memory. Community’s the reason someone leaves Hansel and Gretel sized bits and pieces of themselves everywhere they go; whether it be by a kitchen farmhouse table, a river winding through a romantic city, a tiny house in an African village, or an old tour bus filled with a plethora of relationships.

3. We WANT to be physically clean. We NEED to be morally, emotionally, and spiritually cleansed.
"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:22-24

4. We are destined to be a part of a bigger solution. To leave a legacy, so to speak. Something beyond our picket fence that is gonna leave a mark.
"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."Mark 1:15-17.

The opening jumbotron video was an unbelievable ride over some of the most scenic landscapes in the world. “He Is Risen” was etched on mountains, superimposed in an evergreen forest, written in sand on the ocean beach, and crop circled into a wheat field. Did I mention the majestic music? It was meant to grab your attention, and when those words came up on the Grand Canyon, my heart skipped a beat. It felt good to be so moved.
After church, we probably visited, ate, and drank, a bit too long. I’ve made it a habit to soak in most Easter Sunday sunrises, but I missed this one.

Besides not being with my immediate family, and except for a brief power outage and tiny driveway collision, Easter Sunday was a good day.
And here is where I wished I would have jotted some notes. The extended family came through and we laughed, cried, took pictures, performed monologues, watched a little YouTube, dreamed, played, prayed, and ATE together. I couldn’t fall asleep last night so I threw this little montage on iMovie at around 1 am. Don’t judge me, I’m only on step 4 or 5 out of 12.
So that was about the first 24 hours of my 4-day Mother and Child Reunion Tour. More to come…