about this weekend 3.29.13
This time of year, for me, is a bit funky. My yard is a mess. The weeds are in full bloom. It feels like I’m never gonna get on top of things and see beauty and intentional green things flourishing again. Sherry tells me, “Just wait. It will all come back. Just wait.”
May I reflect briefly… one more time… on our church sign. That THING has been driving me crazy for a while. It was falling apart. The once-welcoming banner of CCC had been faded with years of sun torture, Atlanta downpours, and unwelcome southern freezes. I didn’t think we’d ever fix this one.
How much could a brand spanking new sign cost… really? Twenty to twenty-five thousand smackeroos. Our turn around church didn’t have those kind of dollars to dole out for signage. The broken, wounded, and hurting of Smyrna couldn’t justify the spending either.
I’m not sure when I began hearing the whisper, but at one point God sounded a lot like Sherry (oh she’s gonna love that!), “Just wait. It will all come back. Just wait.”
Thanks to a company called Miller-Clapperton, a timely donation, and some volunteer work… we finally have our new sign with dollars available for ministry. The sign all came together this past week, and this pastor is elated! I wondered if our new sign taking flight at Easter was coincidence or not.
Did you go through our 24/7 Holy Week prayer labyrinth? For me, there was a sense of heaviness as I went through the first six stations. My emotional read was wondering if Jesus’ closest friends wondered if things would ever intentionally flourish again. Did they think nothing would ever get fixed? When will this whole experience turn around? When does the EPIC story get better? “Just wait. It will all come back. Just wait.”
On Good Friday there is a dark sense of waiting. On this grim day, death seems to highlight our doubts, fears, and feeble living. But as an old, African American preacher once powerfully said, “Friday’s here, but Sunday’s a comin’!”
I wouldn’t appreciate my yard’s beauty without facing the weeds. Our new CCC sign wouldn’t be so awesome without experiencing how ugly the original one was. The miracle and life of the resurrection is short-circuited without significant reflection on the darkness and graphic reality of the cross.
But Sunday’s a comin’! Tonight we will gather, mourn, and remember at 7 p.m. for our Good Friday service. This will be a very somber, sobering, one-hour experience. Please don’t miss it. Tonight’s gathering will elevate expectations for Resurrection Sunday. “Just wait. It will all come back. Just wait.” I can’t wait. Sunday’s a comin’! See you there, and bring lots of friends!
Blessings,
Weekly Giving | 03/24/13
$36,028.93
Weekly Need $29,000.00
