Between Snow and Easter

It's April. It's spring. And it's snowing. I can't believe it. Tomorrow's Easter, and it's an Easter in April (not in March!), and it's snowing.

This weekend at our church is our prayer vigil -- 3pm Good Friday to 7am Easter morning. Steve and I were leaving church last night to take G to an event near our house, and it was snowing. We wondered if we were going to be able to get back down our hill in the morning to fill our time slot in the vigil.

This morning I read the devotional from Disciples. The scripture really struck a chord with me, especially on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter -- a snowy Holy Saturday:

Job 14:14-17:

If we humans die, will we live again? That's my question. All through these difficult days I keep hoping, waiting for the final change—for resurrection! Homesick with longing for the creature you made, you'll call—and I'll answer! You'll watch over every step I take, but you won't keep track of my missteps. My sins will be stuffed in a sack and thrown into the sea—sunk in deep ocean.

I wonder sometimes if we live on the Saturday before Easter. We don't live on Good Friday, with its death without hope, we don't quite live on Easter yet, with its hope fulfilled. We live in between. We live on the edge of Easter, with snow all around.

What do we do? How do we fulfill God's will for us when we live in the in-between. We have hope, we have faith, we have community, but we live in the now and the not yet. I think the other scripture for today answers that question:

1 Peter 4:7-11 -- This scripture really speaks to me, especially today:

• Stay wide-awake in prayer -- On the day when I'm involved in a prayer vigil!
• Love each other as if you life depended on it -- What a wonderful command.
• Be quick to give a meal to the hungry (Common Grounds), a bed to the homeless -- cheerfully -- Sometimes we aren't very cheerful about it, if we do it at all.
• Be generous (!) with what God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it.
• If words, let it be God's words -- I'm teaching tomorrow; these are words to remember.
• If help, let it be God's hearty help -- Is that a play on words? Hearty help?

And then it ends with, "That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!"
Amen. I just think those versus are an excellent way to spell out what we should be doing in this in between time -- between the now and the not yet -- between the snow and the bright light of resurrection.

Images: Thanks so much to Jeff the Methodist for the images today -- they were just what I needed. Snow on dogwood, and a cardinal and goldfinch on the T's family bird feeder.