In my house, Holy Week turns into harried week. I don’t like it and I wish I could figure out a way for it to be the week it’s meant to be. I desire it to be an intentional 7 days of carefully thought out traditions, crafts and a focus on the cross of Christ culminating in the celebration of Easter Sunday. What it turns into is a list of things that have to get done, a husband with 8 services in 5 days (between his 2 churches and 2 retirement homes he serves) and an unintentional attitude of “let’s get this over with”. Yuck.
Part of it is my role as a pastor’s wife and what I choose to take on. I do have boundaries and I have been known to say no. But this is such a special week and I want to serve. I do. I want to do what I have been doing but not at the expense of my family. When they are adults, I don’t want my kids to have an icky taste in their mouth when they recall their childhood memories and how Mom was a basket case around the holiest of holidays.
Part of it is also that I’ve been suckered into “it”. “It” being the culture around me that tells me being busy and running around equals value, meaning and importance. I know better than this but am not acting like it. And I even hesitate to write this for fear of coming across as look how important I am - I’m so busy. The point is not that I’m too busy but that I don’t want to be too busy for what has eternal value - the hearts of my family and the focus and mood in our home.
I wrote the above thoughts 2 days ago. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed between organizing the food part of our every other year Messianic Seder Supper tradition at church, one sick kid and not enough “education” getting done, laundry to wash and suitcases to pack, feeling like I’m missing out on too many teachable moments with my kids, Easter flowers to order and arrange to pick up, egg stuffing for the Easter egg hunt, a phone call from my hair dresser of 9 years (Keep Tish in your prayers as she deals with this news) announcing that she’s allergic to all things hair (this the night before I’m to get a cut and colour), doing some hair cuts for a family so they look nice for Easter, wanting a clean house to come home to for after we’re away, coloring Easter eggs and trying to come up with a special Easter menu for our family that doesn’t produce any leftovers and wishing I’d have time to treat myself to a pedi for when I’m sporting some sandals in the warm Texas weather next week! And 2 days after my heavy heart ramblings? The Lord provides. “Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him, and he will act” Psalm 37:5
I did not overcook the lamb or undercook the potatoes and from the time I finally sat down to participate in the Seder supper I kept thinking to the Lord “thank you for this! Thank you for it not being about the food but about the spiritual nourishment you provide. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve you through your family of believers. Thank you for bodily food and more important, spiritual food. Thank you for these people surrounding me and for the body of Christ. Thank you for body and blood in the bread and the wine, linking us together in a common faith and strengthening that faith with this sacrament - your sacrifice.” And suddenly it wasn’t too much. It was good!
Son’s sickness lasted all of a day. While waking me up at 5 am to announce he thought he wanted to throw up but never did, by evening he was perky and working on homework. I did not have time to make him some homemade chicken noodle soup like I would have liked, but he gobbled up 2 cans of Campbell’s. And Zanna came through in a pinch by reading to him in bed from the doorway - not too close as to catch whatever he has!
The Easter flowers were ordered and we made an all time high of 39 Easter plants to decorate the altar on Sunday! The eggs are stuffed, my neighbour cut and colored my hair and I earned enough cash on the haircuts I gave to send along with one of the children the week we’re away.
Will got back to normal with not even a trace of cold and was in a cleaning mood. The children were fighting over who gets to Swiffer the bathrooms. If that’s not the hand of God, I don’t know what is!
No worries about what to serve for Easter dinner because there’s enough of the lamb leftovers from the Seder to provide for our family meal with a few fresh sides to complement it.
And I may not get that pedicure I wanted but I could do it myself. I’d choose coloring Easter eggs with the kids over that any day! With the cleaning done I definitely have time for laundry and packing.
Any concerns I had about the kids suffering from a lack of spiritual teaching moments dissipated when I overheard Zanna in her room during quiet time teaching her dolls the story of the Garden of Gethsemane. “Watch and pray. Why did you fall asleep?” Ah, yes. A lesson I too could learn from. Why do I fall asleep to what he has done and be all consumed about what I’m doing or haven’t done? Thank you for the teaching moment, dear daughter.
My reading from the Treasury of Daily Prayer reminds me on this day called Holy Saturday -
The commemoration of Holy Saturday encompasses our Lord’s rest in the tomb and HIs descent into hell. The descent into hell is not, however, the depth of Christ’s humiliation but rather the demonstration of His complete victory over death. This day takes us out of the depths of the most painful sorrow and out of the solitude of holy meditation upon Christ’s Passion to the celebration of victory as we anticipate the Lord’s resurrection breaking forth in all its glory of Easter.
Happy Easter! He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!
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