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“Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord;” and she told them that he had said these things to her.” -John 20:17-18
Last month we celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus. It is such a meaningful time of year when we celebrate God’s power, majesty and the miracle of the Resurrection. However, what about after the celebrations? We go back to our mundane, everyday life full of problems, concerns, disappointments, aches and pains.
Sometimes we might wonder, “Where is God’s power now? Where is God’s miracle now – for me – today? If God REALLY loved me – I wouldn’t have this problem!” We have a tendency to focus on everything that’s wrong in our lives and wonder where God is.
The truth is that God and God's miracles are always with us. The challenge is looking for how God is at work in the midst of our everyday lives. This can be difficult, at times. This is especially true for our folks here at Mt. Vista Retirement Community who are tempted to believe that their lives no longer have value or worth.
Yet, recently, the residents of our Assisted Living learned about living the Easter miracle every day. They put together Easter baskets for soldiers serving in Afghanistan. This is part of one letter we received from one of the soldiers who received one of our baskets…
“Today is Easter here in Afghanistan. To commemorate this day I had another 12 hours of work to look forward to. As I sat at my desk preparing to write a report on the mission I went on yesterday, our mail clerk approached me. Fearing yet more dull forms to fill out I reluctantly looked away from my computer screen. I could not help but smile when I saw that instead of more paper work he was carrying a large, brightly colored Easter basket, and to my surprise it contained a card with my name on it…I soon found myself going back to the card with my name on it. After reading it a few times it really began to sink in, the time, money and effort that had gone into preparing all this for myself and my fellow soldiers. With a lump in my throat I took a moment to bow my head and thank God for such fine people as yourselves that would put all this effort and thought into remembering a simple soldier like myself. I can never describe the difference this has made to my Easter and my day. Thank you all for doing this for us and for bringing a piece of home all the way over here. God bless you all on this Easter Sunday.
Sincerely Yours,
SGT Joseph E. Klauser
Afghanistan”
The key to living the Easter miracle every day is finding how God is at work in and through our lives. Anthony De Mello (1931-1987), a well-known Catholic priest and writer explained it this way…
“A man traversed land and sea to check for himself a great teacher’s extraordinary fame. “What miracles has your Teacher worked?” he said to one of the Teacher’s disciples. “Well, there are miracles and miracles. In your land it is regarded as a miracle if God does someone's will. For us, it is regarded as a miracle if someone does the will of God.”
As the glow of the Easter celebrations fade, the true question for us is not whether or not God does miracles for us. Instead, God is asking each of us, “Are you open to doing My will?” When we say YES we are part of His miracle making every day of our lives.
Rev. Kathy Bird DeYoung
Director of Spiritual Care
Mt. Vista Retirement Community
Baptist Home Association
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