Happy Easter!

A few days ago I shared a story with you that a volunteer Sergey Zasukha posted. Maybe you remember. At the Polish border train station he picked up mom traveling on her own, with her toddler + teen girls. It was the middle of the night, they had no where to go, a throwing up toddler, no extra clothes, no food, and were scared + exhausted.

This is them today on Easter. Sergey in the gray sweatshirt with Tanya and her girls. They are off to Germany tomorrow & a home that Brother + Sister Limb arranged. I can’t help but look at the smile on her face. I see hope.The work these volunteers are doing is Christ’s work. I can’t think of a more beautiful and real celebration of Easter, than the love these drivers + volunteers willing give to each individual person they serve. I’m pretty sure that’s the whole point of what Christ came here to show us.

I haven’t paid close attention to war before. Ever. And the destruction astounds me. The reality is that throughout the history of the world, humans tend to lean towards war quite naturally in a way I hadn’t paid attention to. Christ came to earth to show us a better way of living, and then He gave His life so that our grief is temporary. And I can see in a new way how Resurrection of the body must be the most tiny part of the gift that resurrection will be. More completely, it is the healing & restoring of broken people to wholeness, who live through the worst tragedies - this will be the miracle.

And I guess I have found a new hope in Christ’s gospel that I hadn’t fully realized. The promise of resurrection is not a prize to achieve after this life. It is the only way that all of our brokenness is made whole. You + I may not live in a war like the stories I share with you, but our own painful life experiences are also real + not wasted.The despair we feel can be turned to hope in this life, and will be healed in the next. When we get to participate in some small way to heal the heart of our neighbor, we are joining Christ in this whole process.

We are His hands. Not in theory, but actuality. This is something I know for certain because I have lived it this past extraordinary month. Happy Easter to all of you!