I’ve been remiss…I hope you can forgive me.

I have forgotten, been reminded, forgotten again…I want to say LIFE (but really no excuses) so please accept my apologies.

TOWNES’S RESULTS ARE NEGATIVE FOR REJECTION!

Thank you as always for standing in the gap for us. I believe every prayer gathers at the hands and feet of our intercessor (Jesus) and for giggles, I imagine he lofts them playfully at the Father saying guess who? Its them again – all of them – our favorites. So fondly, that’s how you are seen. So, thank you.

And now here we are again…approaching Easter.  Its been two whole years since we miraculously, together, prayed to come home as a family in time to celebrate our Savior. In some ways feel like a lifetime and others just yesterday.

Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter, has in recent years become a week for reflection, wondering, and asking questions during my time with the Lord. The gospels themselves spend much time focused on all the events of the last week of Jesus’ life. 

Last Sunday (Palm Sunday), my pastor at Crosspoint preached from the book a Mark. What I find so interesting about the gospel Mark is he wasn’t a disciple yet 60% is focused on the last week of Jesus life. If Jesus lived 33 years, the last seven days is only .05% of his life but yet it was so important that Mark spent 60% of his gospel with this week at the center.

While I haven’t necessarily received any earth-shattering revelation (yet) what I am confident in is that this week is extremely important and throughout the years to come I know I will continue to learn and discover truths I’ve not noticed before.

As I have read through the different accounts this week, one concept has stood out to me – prayer. Jesus prayed a lot, especially leading up to his crucifixion. We live in a world and culture that teaches us to fight is to act.  Contrary to our nature when preparing for a “battle” of some kind is to be still – but yet it’s what Jesus demonstrated.

He was preparing for his biggest battle against not only all his naysayers and unbelievers, but also those who just days prior laid their branches down in worship, praise, and reverence. Jesus was preparing to shoulder every sin and transgression imaginable on his shoulders to rescue, restore and redeem. He would be disgraced, mocked, shamed, beaten. His closest friends would betray and deny while his own family would doubt him. Can you imagine?

I believe we would all understand if he wanted to defend himself – at least I would anyway. It would even make sense if Jesus started yelling from the rooftops for anyone to hear that he was the Messiah who had come to rescue – he would have only had to remind of his track record of healing (throughout the gospels) and raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11).  It may even make more sense to us if he would have distanced himself from those who he knew would turn their backs.

But how did Jesus respond?

Jesus spent time in prayer and in community with others…even those who he knew would soon refute him as the Messiah (Luke 22:54-62) and ultimately Judas who would betray him to the Sanhedrin (Matthew 26:14-16).  Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane, as recorded in all four gospels, to walk and pray. To abide with the father, sitting still in preparation for battle. A battle he was designed and called to fight – this fight was for you and for me.

Oh how much I can learn from his example –

Easter weekend for my family has morphed into a special celebration. For us, Easter will always be the first weekend we spent at home as a family of five (yes of course the pups count)!  It represents not only Jesus’ sacrifice to save humanity but the significance of redemption for Townes’ life. We remain in awe of the Lord’s goodness and his mercy.  We remain humbled by the experiences of two years ago and the small and mighty miracles we witnessed.  We stay steadfast in our belief that you as a community around us played a major role in our coming home by Easter as you stood firm in faith and believing the God makes the impossible possible. In him, we will always have victory (Deuteronomy 20:4, 1 Corinthians 15:57).

And this Easter weekend, we also celebrate the long-anticipated birth of our dearest friends, Kyle and Wil’s son, James. They have waited and longed to become parents. Their journey has been arduous – but they have walked each step with a confident expectation of good – with hope. Their miracle arrived in the early morning hours Thursday. We are overjoyed that our Father in heaven would use a weekend that holds so much significance to us to continue to bind our families. We will celebrate our godson all weekend long and praise Jesus who deserves every hallelujah we can throw up.

Let us all rejoice together this weekend – He is Risen.

He is Risen Indeed,

Maleah, Scott & Townes