What's the Point?

Happy Easter everyone! As I was reflecting on Easters gone by,  I couldn’t help but smile when I recalled a cute and humorous Easter story from my past. At the time I was teaching an energetic group of three year olds and I was bound and determined no matter what it took to enlighten these kiddos about the true meaning of Easter. As the lesson unfolded I was trying my best to explain to them that Easter is so much more than chocolate bunnies and Easter baskets. One little guy interrupted me and said “You’re so right! Easter is not about the chocolate bunnies. (Wait for it…) It’s about the chocolate eggs!” Oh no! I guess he didn’t really get it after all, much to my dismay. After some other activities and riveting discussion, in my opinion I seemed to be making some headway in the area of the true meaning of Easter.  With gusto, I began the grand finale of my Easter lesson, the Holy Grail for Sunday school teachers everywhere: the flannel board story. Oh how I loved those when I was a kid. The story was about Mary and Martha at the tomb and how they were very sad because Jesus wasn’t there. The same little boy interrupted me again as I was explaining their sadness and said “No, I think they were sad because they lost their chocolate bunnies.” Yikes! O.k. I thought. I give up! I had to chuckle though when my cousin had that same little guy in Sunday school the next week and she too thought she was really getting somewhere with the lesson when he asked if he could lead in prayer. Quite impressed she immediately responded “Yes!” He started with great enthusiasm “Oh Lord, for the dinosaurs. Help them! Keep them safe, just be with them Lord.” My cousin could barely keep a straight face but admitted it was very sweet to hear him pray so seriously about something that sadly could not be changed.

Sometimes the best laid plans do not turn out the way you would like them to like my "life changing" lesson, but that is just life sometimes. It does seem that in our busy society there truly are so many like my little friends who do not grasp what Easter is all about. Today in church we examined the great sacrifice that Christ made for us and celebrated communion together. It is something that is always a powerful experience for me as we truly meditate upon the act of love that Christ did for us.

Many times in life things happen to us that do not make sense. A line from a popular song by Casting Crowns called Just Be Held that I heard this week really resonated with me. It said “Your world’s not falling apart.  It’s falling into place.” I can only imagine how the disciples felt to see their beloved friend killed or Mary to see her precious son tortured. I am sure they were seriously thinking what is the point of all this? Ironically as they thought everything was falling apart, it was miraculously falling into place for all of us as God’s children.

We only see a small part of the picture, but God sees the big picture. Many times in my life I have wondered why I have had heartaches and struggles. I have been angry and questioned why did I have to go through these challenges when I could have learned the same lesson another, less painful way? The beautiful thing is with God’s help and the passage of time we can take all that pain and channel it in a positive way to help others. We have a powerful connection with others when we too have walked that same road. Our family has experienced grief, miscarriages, serious illness, unemployment, financial setbacks, and other personal struggles. I can say with assurance that there is not one difficult thing that we have gone through that we have not been able to speak about to help others.

When going through a hard time and you find yourself asking what the point is, think about Easter. Things looked so dark on Friday, but by Sunday the situation had been miraculously changed! You do not know when your breakthrough is coming and it could be much sooner than you ever dreamed. Consider the fact that maybe, just maybe if you are open to the possibility, your world’s not falling apart but instead perfectly into place.

Until next time,
~ Dana

Isaiah 55: 8-9 ~ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Little Lesson Learned: Our mess can be transformed into a powerful message for others in time.

Copyright: littlelessonslearnedbydana, 2016