April 9

He is Risen, Indeed!

Dear Sisters,

He is risen, He is risen, indeed!! A very happy Easter to you this Sunday. It is my sincere prayer that this Lenten season, which culminates today with the resurrection of Jesus, the reason for our ultimate hope and peace and joy, has been a fruitful one for you. Perhaps you've read along each day. Perhaps, as I sometimes do myself, you read Day #1 and despite your intentions, now find yourself on Day #40 and not having read anything in between. It's okay. Really.

Dear one, if there's a single message from this season it is this: It's okay.

It's not okay because of your effort or your hard work.

It's not okay because of your planning or your cooking or because you're a world-class Orchestrator of Family Chaos.

It's not okay because of the kind of car you drive or the miles you've flown or the brand of your sneakers.

It's not okay because you have a lot of friends or are really great at being alone or are a member of the "in crowd" at your church.

It's not okay because of the size of your jeans or the length of your marriage or the number on your bank account.

And it's definitely not okay because you try harder than everyone else or because you "don't need much sleep" or because you always have a book to recommend to a friend or because your ability to grin and bear it outlasts all of your friends'.

Why is it okay? Because, as N.T. Wright said:

“The season before Easter signifies the troubles of the life we live here and now, while Easter and the season following it are a foretaste and promise of the joy that will be ours in the future. Easter points to something we do not yet possess. This is why we keep the season before the feast with fasting and prayer; but when the fast has ended we devote these present days to praise. This is the meaning of the Alleluia we sing.”

Why is it okay? Because as the song goes, "Death could not hold You."

Why is it okay? Because the God who made heaven and earth, the Father of all creation, the One who knows the number of hairs on your head; the God who sacrificed everything to invite us into communion with him tells us: My yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30

With alleluia,

P.S. If someone shared this with you, and you'd like to stay with this beautiful tribe of women, consider joining us at loopforwomen.com as we turn the page on Lent and continue the journey together.