Araella joyfully put aside her school work to attend Good Friday worship service last year. It was such a blessing that Easter weekend was early. Rae was able to fellowship with family, to be in the pre-egg-hunt-cousin photos, and to celebrate the Hope of Heaven on Resurrection Sunday.
Shortly after Araella left earth, I decided I would put some of the annual Easter photos together in a memory book for my family. It was a bitter-sweet project that I kept postponing. The heaviness of knowing Rae would be missing from every Easter photo in the future, made it feel forlorn. Until one Saturday morning in February when I was nudged to create the gift so that it would be ready for this Easter. I searched for photos with the brightest smiles – photos of family loving each other. I included verses from God’s Word and some of Rae’s encouraging words from her last week on earth. I wanted the book to be warm and encouraging. In my mind, the last page would be the dated cousin photo from Easter 2018. But it was sad. Even Rae’s bright smile didn’t bring the comfort I had hoped it would. It needed a new ending.
I looked through the photos again - at the ones I had taken of just Araella. I hadn’t added any of those to the book, but for some reason, those images brought me peace. The last page I thought, I will put one of just Rae there - in black and white - maybe faded along with an “In Memory of Rae” caption or something…
But when I clicked to type the caption, I listened to a whisper and I wrote something else. 💛 The joy captured in that still-shot moment wasn’t gone. The caption on the last page couldn’t mark an ending. It needed to celebrate a beginning. Yes, of course, we have a living hope! Jesus ransomed Rae. He set her free! She is a Child of God. Easter!
On this Good Friday - and every day - I am going to try to remember to celebrate Jesus' victory over death the way I imagine they celebrate in Heaven. Will you join me?
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
(I Peter 1:3)
