Barking, Biting, and The Hope of the Resurrection

 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;  but they were kept from recognizing him.

Lindsay dragged me to Sunday School last week. If you know me, you can imagine the dragging was mostly bark and no bite..... The topic was race and racism - seemingly an easy topic to cover with perfect strangers in 47 minutes prior to worship. The room was filled with curious faces, and the spirit of the group sought to understand. The facilitators were tender and present allowing the group to engage in conversation. I was distracted most of the time because of my self-reflections on whiteness and by wondering how the conversation would occur in a more multi-cultural group. But mostly I was distracted because of the one person of color sitting at the front corner of the conversation; I knew I had seen him before. 

We continued our conversation for the slated time, and I spent the majority of the time wondering about the man in the corner. I must admit that I was anxious that I was simply guilty of "own-racial bias" or "other race effect"). But I was certain we had met before.

Today we received an email inviting us back to the class this Sunday. This Sunday is Easter, and our family could use a healthy dose of resurrection confidence. The move, the surgeries, the emotions....any one of these things is enough to need the resurrection. I appreciated the Sunday school reminder of what is to come.

The email also invited us to celebrate one of our classmates, Nathan. The email read, "If Nathan, one of our new members, is there, we are also going to celebrate his birthday. Thanks to those of you who have offered to bring cake and decorations. I hope Nathan feels well enough to join us...and well enough to sing the birthday song again! (If you haven't had the opportunity to meet Nathan, you can learn more about him and his singing talents here.)" 

I read the email while shifting from one desktop task to another. Unsure of whether I was curious about the singing talents of a classmate or just wanting a diversion, I clicked on the link.

There he was! The man from class is Nathan. I had no idea what to expect when I clicked the link, but the surprise was welcome!

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I immediately remembered meeting him. Madeline and I had an appointment at the neuro-surgeon's office where we discovered the need for the second surgery. We left that meeting wrecked. I can feel the tears percolating as I simply re-type the memory. We agreed to go downtown for a snack and a Lululemon therapy session. we parked up the street and walked down to the Reedy River Falls. Somewhere between Cantinflas and the Triumph store, a man popped out of a doorway and yelled, "Whoop! Can I get a Whoop?!" We "whooped" back and he began singing a spiritual. I cannot remember which one, but our faces brightened for a quick moment. 

We continued walking and Madeline was delighted in the man's playfulness. We needed Nathan. He was the sign of the resurrection for us on that day in that moment. This is but one more reminder for how grateful we are for Christian community!

It has been less than two weeks since Madeline's surgery. She is recovering very well. She is attending full days at school this week, and she went to a friend's lacrosse game last night. We are so proud of her. Micah is busy playing baseball. Lulu is facing some anxiety with everything, but she is learning to befriend her anxiety and to listen to it as a messenger. Lindsay and I continue to experiment at adulting, which is not nearly as fun as we thought it would be back when we were teenagers. Thankfully, Lindsay's mom is here this week to help us with the many tasks of adulting. 

Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

We all need a bit of Easter; I am hopeful the resurrection will demonstrate itself to me, to you, and to the world as the next days unfold.

Oh...and speaking of bark and no bite, this happened...Welcome, Molly.