Good Friday

Today is Good Friday. On a shallow note, it hasn't been such a Good Friday. Not bad, but just not good either. Know what I mean? One of those rainy, gray days in which the kids are cranky because they are bored out of their skulls, and I'm cranky because there really isn't much to do. Actually, there is a lot to do, but nothing I really feel like doing! So here I sit, with the kids down early for their naps, eating the Easter candy that I allegedly bought for Molly's Easter egg hunt on Sunday (for the kids......riiiiiiiggghhhtt!)

On a deeper note, I did wake up this morning and think about Jesus. Today is the day he was crucified. It's 3 days before Easter, when he rose again. Isn't it hard to wrap your head around that? I tried to imagine what it was like for him to know what he was going to go through. I tried to imagine if there were anyone I would consider going through the same for. It's a sacrifice that is so unfathomable. For all of the joy and celebration that Easter brings, Good Friday is like the weather today; a little dark and dreary. I have read so many stories lately (mostly in blogland) about suffering. Suffering that comes from illness and death. The kind that we all wish to avoid. Sometimes living in this world feels like living in Good Friday. It's sad, sorrowful, dark, dreary, and seems uncertain. That is really the beauty of Easter. It's the hope that we all have that Good Friday won't last forever. It's not the end of the story. Living in this world won't last forever. In fact, I think it won't last much longer at all, but that is another blog for another time! At any rate, on Good Friday, Easter was on the horizon. In this world, heaven, with no more sorrow and no more pain, is on the horizon. That sounds really good to me!

I can't talk about Jesus and not tell y'all about my niece, Ella. I was babysitting for my nieces and nephew last night, and at the dinner table Ella (who is 4) says, "Jesus lives in my heart." Her normal follow-up to that is, "I need you to get him out." Her theology is a little confused since she learned about Jesus being in her heart at the same time her mommy had her baby brother in her tummy and "pushed him out". So here is last night's conversation:

E- "Jesus is in my heart. He wants to say something."

Me-"Oh really? What does Jesus want to say?"

E- (pulling her shirt out to stick her head down, listening) "What Jesus? Oh, ok. Jesus said he needs more to eat."

Me- "Is that all Jesus said?"

E- "Um, wait. What Jesus? Ok. Jesus said he wants you to read him a book."

I think Jesus was laughing out loud at that conversation!

Happy Easter everyone!

The girls in the family....

.....and the boys!