What, Already???

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Easter is Sunday.

THIS COMING Sunday.

5 days away.

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel that, despite the fact that the full moon after the spring equinox didn't actually happen until this week (the determining factor in when Easter falls on the calendar, if you didn't know), Easter has arrived awfully soon?

Maybe it's the cold weather.  Or maybe I'm just not tracking with things.  I just know it sure doesn't feel like it should be Easter.

I have blogger friends who are doing introspective blogs about Lent, or about Holy Week...and I feel really out of step.  Not that I'm doing the whole Easter Bunny...new dress...coloring eggs...secular Easter celebration.  No, I'm coming up with process queues so that folks who respond to the Easter message will be contacted and encouraged in a timely fashion; making sure the extra services are scheduled in the software so that tykes can be checked in to their classes, and making plans to attend the first of six services this weekend (Friday night) so I can spend the other five services doing data entry...so that guests are acknowledged, prayer requests come before the intercessor team, and people who want more info about various ministries  get a response.

It's Easter prep of a whole different nature when you're the church data admin.

The struggle is to not lose sight of the miracle and the triumph of Holy Week in the practical and sometimes frantic preparation that enables us to minister to folks who don't normally attend a church service...to present the Gospel to people who may not have heard it before. 

Which sounds crazy...that there could be folks in America...in the Bible Belt South of America...who haven't heard the Gospel.

But they're there.  Many are people who think they know the message, because they've heard some snarky twist on it presented by folks who have an agenda to marginalize and ridicule the concept of faith.  Some are folks who were around bitter church goers who presented a harsh judgmental facade and so they never saw anyone who appeared to be a follower of the One who commanded us to love one another.  And some are folks who grew up thinking Easter was really nothing more than colored eggs and chocolate bunnies, who don't know why  we celebrate.

To be honest, I don't even like to say 'Easter', because of its pagan roots, but that's what's on the calendar so we'll go with it.

However you're preparing yourself to commemorate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus,  I hope you get some time to reflect on the sacrifice He gave...and the glory that followed.

Even if it's arriving a whole lot sooner than it feels like it should. ;-)