An Easter Basket Without a Bow

For the past 5 years, another family and ours have tried to reach out to our neighbors through a neighborhood Easter egg hunt. The idea has never really taken off like we'd hoped, but by the time the following year rolls around we have forgotten the low turnout from the year before and we jump in with fresh optimism (kinda like having a baby). This year, we were particularly confident as Easter was so late in the spring that it was bound to be warm...(insert ominous foreshadowing here.)

So, on a couple sunny evenings leading up to the big day, we canvased the neighborhood and passed out about a dozen flyers to families with kids, both those we knew and those we hoped to know soon through our Easter party. We posted on the Nextdoor neighborhood app, and strangers forwarded the event on to other strangers. We sent texts, created a Facebook event, and told friends to invite friends.

Then we prepared. We weeded, mulched, fertilized, planted, trimmed, and generally beautified the yard. We cleaned the inside of the house. We bought hundreds of eggs and stuffed them with all sorts of goodness. We bought hotdogs, buns, and lemonade, we made Resurrection Rolls. And then we waited. 

Well, in full disclosure, I should add that I also fretted. Most of you heard me worrying over the forecast for the whole week leading up to the event. You were likely an unfortunate, possibly unwilling, participant in my deliberation over whether to reschedule, but there was no good solution. So, I just prayed that the meteorologists were wrong and God would shift the expected beautiful Sunday weather a day earlier for our event, all the while feeling ridiculous for praying for weather. But, we were trying to love our neighbors, exactly what Jesus had told us to do, why wouldn't God want to bless our efforts. 

Alas, I woke up to this forecast for our 10:30am hunt, and my mood became as dreary as this screenshot.

A friend had posted on Facebook that the two cold gloomy days leading up to the gloriously warm and sunny Resurrection Day were appropriate. Yes, appropriate for God's subtle artistry maybe, but not appropriate for a community outreach in your yard!

So, to make a long story a tad shorter, the only family, out of the dozens we invited, who showed up to gather eggs in the freezing rain was the other family who co-hosts with us. Bless them!

We had a lovely time catching up with them, and their oldest daughter even said that she likes Easter egg hunts in the rain best, because she got more candy! But it was hugely disappointing and frustrating. It was our annual attempt to meet new neighbors and reconnect with old ones, and it had failed. 

I found myself doubting. Not that God existed, but that He cares about our details and our plans. And then I felt ridiculous again thinking of my friends who just lost their daughter and how they continued to praise God and call Him good. 

If you've read any of my previous posts, you're likely waiting for the happy ending, or the lesson I learned. But there's not one this time. Pastor Jim Burgen says to share your stories before they have bows on them. So, I'm trying it out. There's no bow on this one. And there's no bow on a lot of your stories yet either. But God is still good. Today, we found out that for the 12th cycle in a row, we won't be expecting the little baby our family has decided we would so love to bring into the world. But He is still good. 

And tonight at church, I thought of the disciples in that room on Saturday night. Dumbfounded, frustrated, disappointed, shaken to the core by the changes that had happened since Thursday. There was no bow on their story yet. But Sunday was coming. 

Friends, even if you don't have a bow on your story, even if we never get the bow that we're waiting for, longing for, convinced that we need... God is still good, and Sunday's still coming. 

The tomb is empty, friends. And so yummy!

"Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, 

see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that 

He has risen from the dead;" -Matthew 28:5-7