The best is yet to come - Candice Myers

Luke 22:39-46

Retailers have cleared the shelves of Easter related products. The white patent dress shoes that were shiny and new just a short time ago now have black scuff marks on the side and the soles. Our beautiful Easter lilies are looking a little droopy and are tinged with brown edges. And while there is candy left in the baskets, it’s really just the kind the kids don’t like, and will live there another week or so before I finally throw it in the trash.

On Easter Sunday morning, our church was a completely packed house – maybe the largest crowd I have seen over the past three years. But the following Sunday attendance was sparse. And that’s normal in church world.  In fact, the Sunday after Easter has long had a nickname…. “Low Sunday”. t’s the aftermath of Easter – the valley that follows the mountaintop experience. And mommas, don’t we know that well? And it doesn’t only apply to Easter, does it? t’s the aftermath of EVERYTHING that we deem important enough to pour our hearts into…. weddings, births, graduations, first days of this, last days of that, and nearly every holiday you can find on the calendar.  We love the anticipation and buildup of the impending day or event, but the aftermath….  that’s another story.  

We have our check lists, shopping lists, lists of obligatory tasks and lists of things to think about. And we plan the things and do the things and take and post pictures of the things. And then it’s over. And we are sitting in the aftermath. The gospels are jam-packed full of intense and powerful scenes during the days and hours surrounding the crucifixion, but one phrase rings loud and clear through it all, “It is finished.” Those that heard Him utter those words on that day likely thought it was over. And they probably thought they would be left to manage the aftermath. And they still didn’t truly understand the purpose of it all. But He said, “IT is finished.” He didn’t say “I am finished.” And what they couldn’t know at that point was that He was just getting started. 

In the days to come, they would witness the miraculous – the resurrection, the appearing, and the ascension. And those events would roll into some of the wildest moments their human minds could imagine (have you read the book of Acts lately?). My point is this:  sometimes, in the letdown after the buildup, we find ourselves in a “Low Sunday” – sad, tired, lonely, and wondering what that was all about. And if we focus on the event, rather than the PURPOSE of the event, it’s easy to be a little downhearted when it’s over. Each transitional event in our lives is an opportunity to scoot us a little farther down the road on our journey with the Father – whether they are joy-filled events or heartbreakers. Recognizing the purpose of these moments, and the power of God to do something miraculous with them, helps us keep them in perspective. It also keeps our “eyes up” – focused on what He is doing in and around us, while avoiding the pitfalls of the aftermath. Be encouraged, momma – the best is yet to come.

 ~ Candice Myers