I've been to four church services and taken Communion three times, and it's not even 1 o'clock yet. This isn't how I imagined my Easter weekend. We usually visit my hometown and attend worship service with my mom. Afterward, my parents' yard would miraculously be covered with Easter eggs after church. Mom's dressing baked to golden brown goodness, and my macaroni and seven cheeses bubbled up to caloric goodness to make the ancestors smile. This year wasn't our usual Resurrection Sunday routine, but then again, words such as usual, routine and normal are distant right now.
But as I sit here, all churched up and waiting for KEM to bless us with his soulful voice on Instagram Live, I'm grateful. In the past, time allowed us to attend one church service. Since the church buildings have closed, I've had the opportunity to attend my church and church-hop my way through several online worship services each Sunday. My soul is being fed in record time each week. This wouldn't have been possible before. By the time we got out of the parking lot, through traffic and home to prepare for Sunday dinner and the workweek, the day would be evening before we knew it. I don't think that's a coincidence or happenstance.
This global time-out has afforded me time-in to experience God on an even deeper level. Because of that, I'm experiencing my family in a more meaningful way and learning more about them. I know my children and I'm intimately in-tune with them; however, I'm getting to experience them in a whole new way - their personalities, quirks, talents, inside jokes and quick wit. We often see moments of our family members' uniqueness, but when you're with them every waking moment, you learn so much more.
Horrible circumstances have brought us here. We church, work, workout, party and more online, all the while God remains on the mainline for us to get in line with who He called us to be. Perhaps this most unusual Easter is the one we'll forever remember as our personal resurrections. Because He lives, we can face tomorrow. To that, I say, Happy Resurrection Day!