Is grief your companion today?

As I write this, it is Palm Sunday—the anniversary date of the triumphant entry Jesus made into Jerusalem about a thousand years ago. The people in the crowd shouted praises to Him on that day and felt no sorrow. Happiness and excitement filled their hearts.  Anguish came on Friday. Their King failed to live up to their expectations, so they crucified Him.

This first Sunday of Holy Week is a bittersweet day for me because I know what comes in five days—the anniversary of the crucifixion. We call it Good Friday, but somehow, the term doesn’t quite fit.  Yes, the day turned out good because Jesus conquered sin, but His horrendous suffering breaks my heart. How could Friday have been good for Him? In the sense of a mission complete, no doubt—His action on our behalf transformed beyond magnificent. A job well done, certainly—that turned out more than first-rate.  But the price?  Not good. He lost his human life on this day, one he enjoyed and wanted to keep awhile longer. He prayed to escape death the night before the cross. Yet, He expressed willingness to obey the Father if there was no other way to bring man to God.

He experienced the union of divine nature and human nature at His incarnation. On the human side, He was a servant.  On the divine side, He was a King. He was a perfect human, something no mortal can achieve.

Three days after Good Friday, on Sunday, we have the joyous celebration of his resurrection. He appeared in a glorified body when He came forth from the tomb. After His ascension, He is now gone from us in His earthly existence. We will see Him in heaven where He reigns as King. That is definitely a good thing.

Do you feel sad on Good Friday?

Let me know your thoughts.  I’d love to hear your responses.

 Now, here are a few things for you to consider: Is Jesus still considered a God/Man after His resurrection? He wasn’t incarnate before coming to earth. Did He remain incarnate after ascending to heaven, or did His humanity cease at His resurrection? His glorified body after the resurrection makes me think He retains His God/Man identity.  What do you think?  Comments on these questions?

 

 

“What are you doing here?”

The Lord asked Elijah this question as the prophet secreted himself in a cave. The rhetorical question from God made Elijah remember to whom he belonged.

After fighting a mighty battle against the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel—and winning—Elijah’s confidence failed when Jezebel threatened him. He responded with fear and ran away to hide in a cavern.

When the word of the Lord came to him in the form of this inquiry, Elijah replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword.  I am the only one left and now they are trying to kill me too.” I Kings 19:11. NIV.

After Elijah’s response, the Lord showed him the wonders of a massive wind, then an earthquake, and after that, a fire. At the conclusion of these awesome events, the Almighty whispered, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

The great man of God replied with the same answer as before.

God now announced the consequences for Elijah’s panic and failure to trust his God. He would lose his place of service—Elisha would take his place.

After all the marvel of Mt. Carmel, Elijah experienced a lack of faith in God’s continued miracles, but God graciously delayed the penalties.  He allowed the prophet Elijah to mentor his replacement, Elisha.

At the premature conclusion of Elijah's ministry, God sent a chariot of fire to take Elijah to heaven, but Elijah remained an important figure in Israel history. At the Mount of Transfiguration, Elijah appeared with Moses to speak to Jesus.

So what can we learn from the Elijah experience? 

After winning battles, mental and physical fatigue can lead to our spiritual downfall. Use these interludes to immerse ourselves in the Word, rest, and wait for recovery. God’s power of deliverance is not limited to a one-time encounter.

A place of service to the Lord is important to us all and the loss of time or abilities to serve is heartbreaking.  A constant study of God’s power will deliver us from negative feelings set to destroy us.

A group of authors each contributed segments to A Blizzard Wedding.  We never knew where the characters, Luke and Rachel, were headed.  After we wrote our segment, we’d send it on to the next writer.  It was fun to see how each of us moved Luke and Rachel to their chaotic wedding conclusion.  Rachel wanted it to take place in a ski lodge, but it never occurred to her that a blizzard might interfere, or Luke might not show up!

A Blizzard Wedding is a continuation—and the grand finale—of After the Storm and Lightning Strikes. If you haven’t read Lightning Strikes or After the Storm yet, download them for FREE on the Prism Book Group website. They are also available through most of the popular eBook retailers.

My segment appeared on the Prism Book Group site on February 20, 2013.

A Blizzard Wedding

Segment # 6 By Gay N. Lewis

 

Even though the well-insulated hotel kept most external noises silent, Rachel heard the wind howl. With a pounding heart, she sat straight up in bed and glanced at the bedside clock—a few minutes after seven o’clock.

Throwing aside the cozy, warm comforter, she ran to the window and flung open the draperies. “Oh no!”

Ivy groggily sat up and rubbed sleep from her eyes.  “What’s wrong?”

“The gale is in full force. We’ve got a whiteout.”

Ivy joined her, and they stood shoulder to shoulder. Through the murky, gray dawn, nothing but a thick blanket of white greeted their gazes. Mountains, trees, hotel parking lot, decorative miniature twinkling lights—all had disappeared.

“Wow! It appears as if the Almighty erected a dirty cement wall up against the building and imprisoned all of us inside.” Ivy shivered. “Not good for my claustrophobia.”

Tears streamed down Rachel’s cheeks. “My wedding!”

Ivy placed her arm around Rachel’s shoulder.  “I’m so sorry, but it will work out, I know it will.  Quick, turn on the television for a weather report.”

Sitting on Rachel’s bed, they tuned into a local station where a meteorologist gave the latest account.

“The brunt of the blizzard is blowing through at this moment. The squall is expected to rage its way out of the Sky Ridge Mountains by mid-afternoon, and state crews are set to clear roads as soon as the storm dissipates. The Trans-Mountain Pass should be open by nightfall, but all other roads will remain closed. Expect travel delays.”

Rachel hiccoughed through her sobs. “You think I should postpone the wedding for a day or two?”

“And miss your Valentine’s Day wedding? No way. You and Luke chose for your two hearts to become one on this elite date.  Joshua will make sure Luke is here for the ceremony, and in case the others can’t arrive in time, we’ll prepare a second party so they can congratulate the married couple. It’ll be fun.”

“Since when do you have faith in Joshua?” Rachel blew her nose noisily into a tissue.

Ivy finger combed her hair. “I decided to try optimism for a change, even if it means trusting Joshua.”

“What brought about that transformation?”

Ivy shrugged. “My complaints weren’t helping, and as the maid of honor, I should assist you to find solutions in this rather bazaar circumstance.  So, my friend, let’s have breakfast and attend to those details. An additional nuptial function will be perfect in case the guests can’t gather for the main event or the customary party that follows.”

Giggling, Rachel hugged Ivy. “Okay, while we eat, we can make our prep list for two parties. We’ll need to order more food—the whole nine yards. I’ll try to call Luke and tell him what we are doing.”

Picking up the cell, Rachel punched in Luke’s number.

“Good morning, my love.  How’s your wrist?”

“Hello, sweetheart. It throbs a bit, but no worries, I’ll soon hold you and caress your sweet face. And…” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Maybe a few other places too.”

“Oh you.” Rachel laughed. “Have you looked outside?”

“Yes, but I understand the bluster will be gone by this afternoon, and we’ll only have mounds of snow to contend with. Crews intend to plow the main road, and Joshua is with me now. He has an idea to get us over the offshoot road that leads to the inn.  If all goes well, we should be there by tonight.”

“Ivy and I are going to arrange a second reception, kind of a contingency strategy in case all the guests don’t make it to the ceremony.”

“Good idea. This is an exciting way to start our life together.  We’ll have such cool stories for the grandkids.”

Rachel laughed. “Cool stories? You mean icy cold stories, don’t you? As in freezing blizzard sagas?”

Luke chuckled. “Might make a good novel someday. Since we’re both writers, maybe we’ll publish it. How about this for a title? A Snow White Wedding.”

“That’s an awful heading! You’re simply trying to make me forget my worries.”

“Am I succeeding?”

Rachel giggled, and after a few words of love, she disconnected.

“Feel better?” Ivy finished her ablutions and came out of the bathroom.

Rachel grinned. “Luke always restores my sense of humor.”

After Rachel donned a warm ski suit, they avoided the elevator and walked downstairs to the dining area. Over eggs, toast, and coffee, Ivy pulled out pen and paper to go over ceremony preparations and make a detailed list for two parties.

“What about music? The pianist may not be able to come in from town. We might need a back-up minister too.” Ivy munched a buttered bite of bread.

“Joshua brought his guitar.”

Ivy nodded. “Yeah, I suppose he can play the thing.”

“He’s the music minister at his church, and if the local pastor doesn’t make it, Joshua can unite us.”

“Yeah, Mr. Goody Two Shoes.” Ivy scrunched her nose.

Rachel reached over to pat Ivy’s hand.  “Just because Barry was a dud doesn’t mean all men are bad news.”

“Maybe not, but Barry came on strong and seemed a prince of a guy at first, and look at how he treated me.”

“Give Joshua a chance. Luke wouldn’t have an unkind person for a friend.”

“Have you forgotten one thing?” Ivy stared at Rachel through squinted eyes.

“About the wedding?”

“No, about me. I’m divorced, and I doubt some crummy ole minister will have anything to do with a divorcee. So don’t play matchmaker.”

“Do you think a former marital status would make a difference to Josh?”

“Yeah, I do.  A lot of guys I’ve dated seem to consider me damaged goods.”

“Oh, Ivy, honey, I’m sorry you feel that way. You aren’t flawed because you selected the wrong men—your picker apparatus is broken. I think it’s time we changed that.”

Before Ivy could retort, the electricity went off.

 

Will Luke show up in time to place a ring on Rachel’s finger?