The Morning After...

With many celebrations, there tends to be a "Now what?!?" moment that follows, if not immediately, then the morning after. Easter is no different, or maybe I'm the only one who thinks this way?!?!

The morning after Easter's rejoicing left me in an odd state of reflection and "Where do I go from here?" contemplation.

During my worship & devotional time yesterday morning, I heard the song, "Tell Your Heart to Beat Again," by Christian contemporary artist Danny Gokey. 


You're shattered

Like you've never been before
The life you knew
In a thousand pieces on the floor
And words fall short in times like these
When this world drives you to your knees
You think you're never gonna get back
To the you that used to be

Tell your heart to beat again
Close your eyes and breathe it in
Let the shadows fall away
Step into the light of grace
Yesterday's a closing door
You don't live there anymore
Say goodbye to where you've been
And tell your heart to beat again

Beginning
Just let that word wash over you
It's alright now
Love's healing hands have pulled you through
So get back up, take step one
Leave the darkness, feel the sun
'Cause your story's far from over
And your journey's just begun

Listening to the lyrics brought clarity regarding the past couple of years, my resulting feelings, and my next steps suddenly became apparent & obvious. The morning after Easter brought me the peace & reassurance I needed, giving me direction on how I was to move forward into my future. 

It is as if the prior year and a half had been one long Good Friday, with closed doors, disappointments, and the death of relationships, dreams & the life I knew.

Then the quietness, stillness & uncertainty of that Saturday. I've walked out the "Now what?" dismay of what I believe the disciples and Jesus' other followers could have felt, thought & said, even if just to themselves. Add regret & remorse I presume Peter and Judas tortured themselves with and you have the makings for a brutally long wait plagued with doubt and second-guessing of what you thought you had, and how you assumed & believed things would occur yet would now never come to pass. 

I've been in a holding pattern, per se, walking out & living that quiet Saturday since January 2, 2020. We all have such high expectations, goals & aspirations for January 1st. The first day, of the first month, of a new year when all the setbacks & missteps of the past year are 'magically' wiped away. The slate is clean, ready for 'do overs' & resets. We have before us the blank page of a new year with new goals, renewed aspirations, revived determination, and the best of intentions; when wrongs will be made right and starts fresh & anew. Endings aren't always bad because beginnings follow. Setbacks sometimes are actually set-ups for what is to come. Some start new jobs, some new relationships, others new diets...I moved to a new state.

With the excitement & exhilaration of new beginnings & endless possibilities, I packed up my life in Texas and closed the door on one chapter of my life to open a new one in Tennessee. Then...the job changed, tornadoes hit, coronavirus spread, home quarantining mandated, and furlough happened. My anticipated next steps were replaced with "Now what?" and "Did I misinterpret what I thought I heard God tell me?" The need to pivot & regroup becomes imperative in these uncertain moments. 

But then came Sunday and the stone was rolled away. Gokey encourages in his song, we get backup, close the door of the past because we aren't meant to live there anymore. We tell our hearts to beat again because the empty tomb on Sunday brings back to life dreams & reassurance of plans and a promise to prosper, not harm us; to give us hope & a future. Resurrection & redemption of what was lost - whether temporary or permanent - causes our hearts to leap with joy, faith & excitement of what is to come. Confidence that we will see beauty out of ashes because nothing is wasted in God's economy & timing; we celebrate victory over death with a renewed purpose & resolve. Strength develops where weakness exists; courage & boldness emerge from where cowardliness & fear once had a foothold. We believe & have faith in a story that,while we do not know what the future holds, we know Who holds the future.

So, on the morning after Easter, we can face the new day with a peace that surpasses all understanding. That being said, we are human and it is our nature to 'self protect' until we have evidence that we are safe. Sure, we can be optimistic but we aren't going to blindly let our guard down & wholeheartedly get our hopes up; been there, done that...at least not until we see with our own eyes. Danny Gokey has another song, "Just Haven't Seen It Yet" which reminds me of the doubting disciple, Thomas. To Thomas, believing was seeing. He needed evidence of what he was hearing; until he saw the risen Lord with His scars, it couldn't be true. 

Faith, however, is hope in the things unseen. In the wake & light of my 'morning after' revelation, I am more determined, motivated & energized to make the most of every day and to believe, trust & take God at His Word. Today is a present, tomorrow is a beautiful blank canvas of hope & endless possibilities, and the future is full of new beginnings, dreams & promises yet to unfold. 

Death & Resurrection...

Death has to occur in order for resurrection to take place. 

Death of...relationships, plans, self. Blessed and released.

Resurrection of...promises, hope, dreams. Brought back to life.

I do not believe there is any coincidence we are walking out COVID-19 during Lent; a journey of, and to, decrease & death on the way to increase & life.

The past as we know it is gone; in its place a new perspective, newfound knowledge, trust, renewal. 

Light of 'that' Sunday morning shining through the darkness of 'that' Friday. Hope renewed & restored. An example of the deepest, purest, most miraculous & redemptive love endured one day so that a covenant is able to come to fruition with the new day dawning three days later. A promised fulfilled. Victory won. Sacrifice made for redemption.

What in your world, past, flesh, or thoughts need to be nailed to the cross to die in order for the resurrection of new hopes, dreams, prayers, and life?

From our limited vantage point of the here & now, like the disciples, we too believe the lie that 'death', an ending, or closed door is the finale of the story. We fail to remember sometimes the ending is a necessary step for the ultimate beginning. Just as the earth must go dormant for a season to allow for new life to spring forth in the next, perhaps it is time to breathe new life into and resurrect a dream, hope, relationship, desire or goal that has been buried, either for a long time or 'just' three days.

What if it wasn't too late for that 'thing' you forgot about or gave up on because, from your viewpoint, it looked hopeless, impossible or too far gone? Sunday was a new day of resurrection that followed Friday's death; but let us not skip over Saturday's waiting. The quiet & delay in the midst may be necessary, just like the hibernation of winter's rest, in order for growth or reawakening to emerge.

Rather than dreams and hope dying, perhaps it is regret, shame, fear & doubt that need to die, per se, and be released in order to resurrect the possibilities of a new day, a new chapter, a new beginning.

The past, with its pain, rejection, failures, mistakes, & dead ends, is gone and 'finished.' In its place, allow the future with its healing, acceptance, forgiveness, love & possibilities to arise.

Let the shadow of the cross be bigger, engulf and redeem anything & everything that has been done & said to & by you. Let disgrace be replaced with honor, weakness with strength, lies with truth, debt with forgiveness, and bondage with freedom. 

Observe and honor the death of Friday & the past to embrace and receive the resurrection of Sunday & the future. A funeral one day; a celebration the next.