An extremely tall smiling administrator was welcoming the students on a rainy (and snowy) spring morning one week ago. A young man hopped out of a car to hightail it to the front door. His mom was yelling for him to go straight to the nurse. Trying to walk at his pace I asked, “Happy Friday young man! Will you show me how we make an entrance into your awesome school?” He replied, “Hey, you’re that famous author!” GULP! Keep in mind Finley’s head was peeking out of a crossover pet carrier while I was balancing two other bags and a framed poster. Nothing about me oozed famous (or ever does for that matter, lol)! We were “buzzed” in as I heard the smiling tall greeter yell “You’re famous!” Another GULP! Talk about pressure! It was too late to go back to my car. This was my 4th school visit in two weeks. Surely I could do this! Nothing but smiles and courtesy were waiting. Kids and parents were coming and going. Like typical, the secretaries were buzzing around managing the school world. A huge smile, and admittedly some tears, broke out on my face. “Thank you, God,” I whispered.
Just as two weeks prior, and that very Monday, I was greeted by “old” friends and new ones. With care and compassion they asked what I might need before setting up. Within twenty minutes classes would arrive. My heart was full. A calm came over me. Inside that building the clouds had lifted. They filed in class by class with huge smiles. And Finley. Well, she was just darling and they loved her. As I read my book their excitement grew as every page complimented something they were learning in class. You should’ve seen their eyes light up when they saw something they had JUST learned! Of course, the history junkie in me had goosebumps when most of them yelled “Lewis and Clark!” before I could even share about these famous men. In a world of war, disease, extreme inflation, isolation,…where “social” media makes us less social, yet handy using technology as a hate weapon, I soaked in the joy of the innocence.
In that school and gym sat the “whoevers” (as Christine Caine so eloquently shared). “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that WHOEVER believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 Tears flowed today, over 2000 years ago, at a brutal death of man who died for WHOEVER. In a tomb that wasn’t even needed for an entire weekend, he stood up and fulfilled a promise predicted hundreds of years before. He knew it was going to happen. This event doesn’t just shape my thoughts one time a year. It’s in my heart 365 days. In what ways, even IF YOU DON’T believe in a God that would send his ONLY SON to die for us, can we at least continue the hope and promises of a man that knew how to treat others? Not only were little children drawn to him, he walked with the messy, ate with the untouchables, and gave life to the hopeless. What a legacy! How can we best “dress” for Easter? May our traditions and habits represent everything good about a Savior who still lives (or at the LEAST represent the hope and kindness that can be continually carried). Happy Resurrection Day dear family and friends. I love you. And you are loved more than you’ll ever know!
