Hope Moves

Wednesday, May 07, 2014 Posted by Katie

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6:00am alarm.

Snooze.

6:10am alarm.

Snooze.

6:20am alarm.

Snooze.

6:30am Tiny children are wandering into my room inquiring about breakfast.

I get up.

Lately, it has been hard to get out of bed in the mornings. Really hard. The last couple of weeks have been a surprising challenge. First, my cherished 14-year-old four-legged best friend, Moses, became gravely ill and had to be put down. And then, the following Thursday, we discovered that my last grandparent, my granddad, died peacefully in his sleep. It was a shock. He wasn't even sick.

It has been hard to get out of bed.

It has been hard to move some mornings, but I have felt grace and strength to put my feet on the floor because the last few weeks have brought some real celebrations too.

My dog died on Good Friday. It was a very difficult goodbye. If I had my choice, I wouldn't have come out of my room. But two days later, we celebrated Easter. It was, of course, a great day, and as it turns out, a memorable last day with my granddad.

The following Thursday afternoon, we found out about my granddad. It was enough to make me surrender to my pillow and covers. However, my husband’s birthday was the next day. There were presents to wrap, and a big surprise to announce. We had cheesecake and a happy evening with our family.

The next Tuesday was our granddad's funeral. We watched soldiers salute his coffin, listened to Taps play, and said good-bye to our hero. A day later, we were dismantling his world, dividing his belongings and cleaning out his apartment. My pillow and covers were calling to me. But thankfully, I had no choice but to catch a plane the next day to head out to my cousin’s wedding. My family and I had a wonderful weekend, distracted by one of the best celebrations that family life can bring.

This, I believe, is how hope works. The miseries of life can paralyze, while the celebrations of life mobilize.

I imagine that is how it worked for the disciples back in the day, too. In those days after they lost Jesus to the cross, they were stuck. They hid together, immobilized, even though he had taught them for three years that they were to go out and love, and be always on the move, serving his Father.

If there were pillows and covers in that locked upper room, I’m sure you would have found disciples underneath them.

But then came Sunday.

A celebration.

An unlocked door.

Feet on the ground.

Hope.

And movement.

Anyone who has ever had to fight the desire to lock down their world and hide from its miseries, can tell you that it takes a significant celebration to get you moving again.

That is why I find it easy to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was the celebration that unlocked the upper room, and unlocked the lives of all those hiding disciples. He was the Hope that moved them.

And He is the Hope that is still in the business of unlocking lives and setting feet into motion.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” - 1 Peter 1:3