easter

Usually this time of year brings in a familiar excitement. Witnessing the first blossoms on flowers, shopping for spring pastels and dresses to match the changing season, planning early summer beach trips with best friends, but most importantly, attacking the CVS shelves the day after Easter for the 50% off Starburst Jellybeans, Reese’s Eggs, and whatever else that manages to jump in my little red basket.

I know I’ve placed a big emphasis on this being a year of firsts, but all these holidays really get me goin. I can’t help but want to soak up every bit of the differences. Like it being 85 degrees outside every.single.day. Even like making a scene at the grocery store over the Lindt egg that is for sale for 50 BUCKS. Yes, 50 US dollars. Crazy.

Anywho, I diverge. The most beautiful thing has been to see these holidays for their true intentions, uncluttered by the mass merchandising that is supposed to “get you in the spirit” (that I’m so often a sucker for). The fog isn’t here. Besides the ridiculously expensive Lindt egg at the grocery story, there’s not much to buy for Easter. But there is still MUCH to celebrate. And the celebration is just as, if not more, joyous.

So today we had our Easter party at CiH training class. And yes, in my American ways, I couldn’t resist bringing some cupcakes and juice and a few jellybeans to add some excitement, but we really would’ve been fine without it.  We laughed, we chatted about things other than clutch bags, we smiled, we took “snaps” (photos). The reality of the day, of the season, really set in when Margret stashed away one of her tiny cupcakes for her little girl Rabbecca so that she could enjoy a gift from her mom as it’s just the two of them now that Margret’s husband passed a few years back. Another woman had to jokingly tell a story of her husband beating her to try to eliminate the severity of it. The weight of life here was still present in our Easter celebration.

But together we celebrate. Because we have HOPE. Not just for a better tomorrow. But we can cling to the HOPE that is in today, knowing Jesus has redeemed us from darkness and came to bring heaven to earth, to put His Spirit within us so that we are never alone. To defeat sin. To display the most extravagant, costly, intimate love of all time.

Many may think that I’m here in Zambia to inspire. Yet every day that I drive away from those 11 women, it’s me who’s inspired. They know Jesus. They live in His hope. They rejoice not because life is fun and fluffy, but because they know the best love there is, a love that will never run out.

Just as Jesus appeared to women following His resurrection, the lowest of the low, the probably unbelievable, the voiceless, He’s still in the business of flipping the ways of this world to prove and invite us into a better one. His grace. His Kingdom. His affirmation. His love.

As the CiH women cried out in gratitude to the Lord today for YOU (donors, supporters, senders, encouragers), I couldn’t help but see that the flipping is still happening. They didn’t beg for more, for better provision, for a more “mature” faith. They just thanked Jesus with such passion for 45 minutes straight. I think they’re onto what Easter is all about.

Jesus is making the most of the “least of these.” He’s flipping the most gripping of situations into the greatest experiences and testimonies of joy and grace. He’s giving a voice to the voiceless. He’s shining light in the darkness. He’s chosen a 23-year-old sorority girl so easily sucked into materialism to live in Zambia to witness that the real riches are in Him. That nothing can buy the joy and love that He offers to all who believe.

He’s wrecking my faith along this journey too. Flipping the world upside down to bring heaven to earth.

So Happy Easter everyone! As you snack on those (delicious, precious, probably amazingly incredible chocolately goodness that I may or not be craving from here) Pinterest-y treats, may your hearts be wrecked for what has happened thousands of years ago, and what hasn’t stopped since then. Hope. Redemption. Grace. Extravagant love. Victory. Jesus. For YOU.