gary

Lisa makes the most darling cookies ever. Look at those sheep! 

To be honest our Easter Sunday morning started out a bit rocky. The kids found and opened their Easter baskets while I was up in the bathroom getting ready. And this made for a frustrated bunny, mad at her honey. 

I didn't have time to iron the dress I had picked out for Hattie so she wore a plan b outfit. And we had to fly off to church early because I was reading in the service.

One of the other readers was my friend Gary. I think Gary is 80 years old. I'm not totally sure his age, but he reminds me so much of my grandpa Phil. And I just love this guy. You would too. He is a man who says, "Good morning, how are you?" as you are passing in the hall and then he stops his feet, and listens to your answer and always has something kind and encouraging to say before he moves on. 

The first time I met him was in church during the greeting time. He asked what I did and I said, "oh, I'm just home with the kids." And he took my arm and looked me in the eyes and said, "don't you ever say "just" when you say that. There is no more important job on the planet than what a mother does day after day for her kids. And our world needs good kids being raised by good mothers..." 

I had tears rolling down both cheeks by the time he was done speaking into my life.

So on Sunday he was the reader right before me. And during the rehearsal he got to the part when the Romans put a crown of thorns on Jesus' head, and Gary started to get choked up. He had a hard time finishing his reading and kept wiping his nose and his eyes, over and over. And then during the service itself, he cried again. It was at the same part where the Romans are mocking Jesus, beating him, flogging him. Both times it felt like Gary was reading the account of someone he knows intimately well and of the terrible things done to his innocent friend. Watching him struggle through these familiar scripture wiped the cliches away and brought the enormity of the story back into my heart. 

It was the best part of my Easter. Gary raised the bar again. He loves Jesus so sincerely and with such powerful belief that I prayed to God, 'help me to love you like Gary loves you.' 

And that's a sweet part of the faith. There is always more to grow. We will never fully arrive. Until my dying breath I will be learning and feeling new things. And my goal is to spend my life pouring into this relationship so that I might know the depth and breadth of God's love, like Gary does.