Tuesday, March 25, 2008

An ark for Easter?

Palm Sunday has always had a tender place in my heart. I will forever have seared in my memory, 11 years ago peeking in my Casey (then almost 3) Sunday School class and seeing them all waving palms bigger then them and shouting Hosanna! Hosanna! I so wish i had a picture of that moment, she was absolutely beaming and yet at the same time taking this very seriously. Funny, cause she still gets that same look today. Well feeing very inspired i thought i would do a little craft project with my girls in celebration of Easter. The girls had taken their naps and woke up to a table full of supplies. Let me say that our picture we made was a masterpiece! At the time Tony and I were separated and i was living with my dad. The girls could not wait for him to get home to show him what they had created. He smiled and they went off to play. Then as he was rummaging around in the refrigerator he said "Lori, you know that Easter has nothing to do with Noah's Ark, right?" The importance of telling you he was in the fridge was important so he could not see the look of horror on my face! God let me feel that rush of embarrassment and confusion all on my own. He is so good. Of course i replied "yeah i know that, duh, it was just a craft dad" Panic. Panic. Panic. I still till this day have absolutely no idea what i thought the connection was. Ark, rainbow, doves???
I am so grateful that God is so gracious with me! I believed Him for salvation, i was baptized, i have no doubt that my eternity was secured at this time in my life.
I count it as a true gift that I can remember when my heart started to pound for Him, something inside me changed that day i saw Casey waving those palm branches and shouting Hosanna! Making that silly picture of the Ark at Easter was the first time i ever craved God's Word, i would say i was desperate for it. Sad to say i had to wait for it. Much to my surprise the word Easter was not in the back of my pink KJV bible, concordance, dictionary, not in there. I suppose i was still to prideful to dare ask anyone what it meant, mostly because it seemed that i was the only person who had obviously no idea. (FYI John 18-20) I was desperate to know what was in the Bible. A week later our pastor was preaching from the book of Acts and how the Bereans were of more noble character because they didn't just listen to what they were taught they wanted to see it and know it for themselves. I say all this to say that again, God has revealed to me, that He has relentlessly pursued me. That i crave and love His Word the way that i do is just as foreign to my flesh as if an ark has anything to do with Easter. From seeing my little girl shouting Hosanna, to making an Ark for Easter, to learning from the bereans that i should read my Bible, to a dear woman sending me a study on the book of Colossians (see Sunday Leftovers ) All this from Palm Sunday to Mothers Day 1997! From humble beginnings, He has been absolutely relentless with me. Ephesians 2:8-9.

Easter 1997! Happy to say there is no evidence of trauma from mommy's lack of wisdom! Truth is they probably knew the truth before i did!