I feel sorry for the Mall Easter Bunnies this year. They rarely get the respect a Mall Santa gets. And just when people began thinking about the holiday, all the malls were closed. Perhaps that’s why this cartoon rang true for me this year. Mr. Easter Bunny, don’t count all your eggs before they hatch!
It’s safe to say nearly all of us have had to change our plans this year.
Retail sales have had to pivot to online sales
Businesses have had to figure out if they were essential or not
Parents have been forced to realize how challenging homeschooling can be
Pets have had to deal with having no “me time”
Churches that weren’t streaming services online had to learn fast
My wife and I will be attending an online Easter service. For a couple that has served and worked at churches nearly every Sunday for over thirty years, this has been an adjustment. The method has changed, but the message has not.
It is a message of hope
It is a message of glorious light after a pitch-black midnight
It is message that resurrects the dead
It is a message that trumps Mall Bunnies and Santas
They said unto them, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.”
Fifty-five years ago, it was a balmy Palm Sunday in Indiana. My mother was five months pregnant with me. It was evening and even though it was stormy, they were getting ready to go to church.
My grandparents lived about five miles southwest of my parents. My Uncle Preston was with them. As they were chatting, they suddenly felt things go deathly quiet. Uncle Preston rushed out to the mailbox. To the northwest, he saw the tornado. He ran back in and told everyone to get in the coal bin. He rushed to the phone to call my dad.
Double Tornado at Midway Trailer Park, between Elkhart and Goshen, Indiana-April 11, 1965: Paul Huffman for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / Public domain
My parents had lived in their house for less than a year. My uncle says he had no idea what their phone number was and couldn’t recite it afterward. But by the grace of God, he remembered it and called Dad.
My parents were at the front door when the phone rang. Dad hesitated for a moment but decided to answer it anyway. After all, this was a time before voicemail and mobile phones. If you missed a call, you had no idea who was trying to reach you.
Dad answered the phone and Uncle Preston told them to take cover. Mom and Dad got into a closet. As they waited and prayed, they could hear the tornado approaching like a mighty freight train.
When it was over, they emerged from the house. There was devastation all around them. A neighboring house was gone.
Today, the tornado they were spared from would be considered an EF-4. That one tornado killed twenty-eight people and injured over 100. It was one of the forty-seven tornadoes that killed 267 people in six states on that Palm Sunday.
Death out of Darkness: 1965 Palm Sunday Tornadoes-Video from the Indiana State Police
My parents lived to see another day. And four months later, I was born. I am thankful for the quick reaction of my uncle, for my parents’ wise choices and their faith as well as the grace God gave that day to my family. Three generations of the Spear family could have been snuffed out that day. I am grateful to be alive today.
This day reminds me it was less than a year ago when the community I now live experienced the Memorial Day Tornadoes. It was a series of tornadoes that affected Indiana as well as Ohio. This time, it was my wife and taking cover when an EF-4 tornado passed south of us. It was a miracle no one was killed in this series of tornadoes. Once again, it is another reason I am grateful to be alive today.
As we remain hunkered down in our houses during a stay-at-home order, I am reminded how precious and fragile life can be. It may get aggravating being in our homes. But we have faced crises before. We can expect COVID-19 to not be our last crisis. I am just thankful for the life I have gotten to live and for one more day to live.
This is one Good Friday where we have much time to contemplate the meaning of this day. When I think of this day, I think of this song by Michael W. Smith:
Secret Ambition by Michael W. Smith
Sure, the video was shot in the eighties and shows it. But this has been a powerful song to me over the years. I love the lyrics to this song:
Nobody knew His Secret ambition, Nobody knew His claim to fame.
He broke the old rules steeped in tradition, He tore the holy veil away.
Questioning those in powerful positions, Running to those who called His name.
But nobody knew His secret ambition, was to give His life away.
Secret Ambition Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Wayne Kirkpatrick
Good Friday is a reminder that though things may seem dark and hopeless, Easter Sunday is coming. The darkest moment is never the end of the story.
When I drew this, we had a dog and a cat that didn’t always get along. They had a nervous pact that sometimes degenerated into a brawl. But the cat was there first. The cat ruled the roost and the dog knew it. She wasn’t the least bit happy about it, but she knew our kitty was the alpha male.
At least the dog would have relished our walks. I have seen so many people walking their dogs these days. People are reconnecting with their canines and that is a good thing. It’s some good exercise for the puppies as well as their owners.
So how are your pets faring in the middle of the COVID-19 stay-at-home party? Are they bringing you some peace or are they getting a little stir crazy as well?
It’s been a difficult week for the United States and the world. Some have insurance. Few have assurances when people will get to go out again and mingle. It is a tough time for parents who have to juggle the normal challenges of raising a family with a pandemic and a little cabin fever thrown in for good measure.
This morning, I hear birds singing outside my window. They don’t have a clue all the stress humans are experiencing right now. They are carrying on with their spring rituals. They are finding food and building nests in anticipation of the little ones.
There have never been full assurances that life would be the same as it ever was. Things have changed this year, and there will be more changes. But life will go on. There will still be joyous times even in the midst of the challenges. There will be choirs singing, kids playing sports and joyful reunions someday soon. Just hang on today while we negotiate social distancing and how our health insurance plans actually work. We can do this together!
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