I recently finished reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It was amazing. The only negative I felt at all was the author’s inability to credit Providence for his journey into the work and his survival while doing it. But it is worth reading. It is a fantastic reminder of what people can do when they meet one another on level ground, even if they are actually standing on mountains. And the realistic reminder that service is personally expensive and not only in monetary terms.
Loving Lampposts the 2010 documentary by Todd Drezner whose personal journey into the definition of Autism looks broadly at the spectrum of the disorder and is able to bring clarity to the difficult questions parents face upon the initial diagnosis as he meets parents, children and adults with Autism. Drezner really listens to their concerns, their struggles with “fix it” mentality, guilt, and “what now?” questions. Those who come through most distinctly are the parents who no longer struggle to fix, as much as understand and enjoy, their children. And the adults who have the most freedom to be themselves as they are, even if that requires a talking computer. A must see for anyone who wants to support caregivers with loving language!
So for a week that included one art class, one substitute teaching day, one trip to Alexandria to walk the Potomac on a spectacular day with a lovely friend, one trip to West Virginia for a youth group service project with another lovely friend and some lovely kids, the fact that I read a book and watched a movie is grace! I’ve been amazed again by grace this week. Amazed that I forget annually (if not more frequently) the real reason for Easter. As I silently complain that the weather looks so beautiful but is a bit more chilly than I’d like. And spring hasn’t sprung as far as my putting away the winter things would imply. And there is dizzying pace; if not passion, to my weeks. But this is Passion week. And this year more than most I’m struck at the thought that God; the God who sent just the right man to just the right place on a mountain so that children in a foreign country would have schools they couldn’t even imagine; the God who sent a filmmaker on a journey of peace and discovery using his own son’s love of lampposts; is the God who wanted me to know Him.
I couldn’t know Him without His knowing me and loving me enough to send His Son to die. So I remember this week the sacrifice of God on my behalf. We attend special services remembering the moments in the week of celebration, supper, crucifixion and resurrection. And sometimes we forget that at the end there is not only ham, or lamb, or whatever food is present at the gathering you attend after Sunday’s service. There will be a return. God’s promises are true. They were true when Jesus fulfilled prophesy after prophesy during his earthly life. They are true in the lives of His followers today. And they will be fulfilled in full in the future.
As I think about Easter here at the beginning of Passion week, I realize how easy it is to forget the promises for the future in the remembering of the past. Easter is not only the promise fulfilled but the promise of more than we can imagine to come. And what exactly are we promised? To return. Right after Jesus returns for us, we return to His Father; our Father, and see Him face to face. This by the way, is the whole purpose of our salvation.
Blessings for a happy Easter!
Just34me's Blog 
It is easy to lose the important amid the busyness of life. I was reminded again recently of Jim Elliot’s “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. ”
I too was disappointed that Greg Mortensen didn’t credit God more especially since his parents were missionaries.
He certainly was tenacious and his wife longsuffering.
Thank you for sharing, dear heart. We have much to rejoice in and much to look forward to, in Christ alone. And your week sounds lovely in so many, many ways.