So often when we loose a loved one
throughout the day we remember special things about them.
The way they walked, or laughed, or said prayers, or sang.
We remember with sadness and also with love in our heart
because of who they were and how much they meant to us.
We wish so much we could hear their voice again or look into their eyes or take them for a drive.
We remember and keep those memories close to us.
It is all a part of saying goodbye to someone we love.
I was wondering during the Easter season if the ones who loved Jesus felt the same way.
They walked with him. They shared meals with him.
They heard his laugh and his concerns, heard his prayers and experienced his power.
They knew without a shadow of a doubt he could heal or change the seas or speak demons away from ones who were tormented.
They didn’t always understand or believe him at the time but they knew
he had the potential to change things as he often did when it was necessary.
They knew and experienced who he was and I am sure
when the last week of his life came and went
like those of us who have lost a loved one
I imagine they walked the streets in shock.
How could he be with us one day and then be gone?
It is a normal question and very real and rational.
Jesus tried to warn them but they could not really understand what he was telling them.
On the day they saw the rulers take him away and beat him and then they saw him on the cross
it perhaps began to make sense but then they also saw him die.
It was over.
They had heard the women weeping at the foot of the cross.
Hope had turned into hopeless and they were left empty without a purpose.
Their grief and disbelief became a vital part of the story for them.
Many of them had left family and jobs to follow him and now they had nothing.
I am sure in the dark of the night they remembered his words.
They remembered his tenderness.
They remembered his love for them.
They could hear his voice and how he said their name.
In the quiet of the moments it is when we spend time remembering
the many things about those who we love when they leave us.
I was just wondering during the Easter season about so many things.
It’s kind of like that when we remember.