8 Days to Prepare Your Heart for EasterНамуна

There Is Space for All Your Emotions This Easter

By Rachel Marie Kang

I drove 600 miles to visit my grandfather’s grave. As I stood there, torn between emotions and shivering in New York’s below-zero wind chill, I couldn’t even shed one tear.

I oscillated between grief — knowing I’d never again hug my grandfather on this side of heaven — and joy as I reflected on his life and legacy.

This Easter, I know I’m not the only one who feels an intermingling of sadness and joy … carrying gratitude for all that is good while simultaneously cradling grief for all that is lost.

We rejoice, celebrating our risen Savior.

We grieve the dissension we see daily on the news.

We rejoice, praising God for healing, provision and redemption.

We grieve as relationships strain, illnesses increase and wars wage on.

We’re wounded, yet we wonder. We hurt, yet we hope. We feel afraid, yet we stand in awe — both of life and of Christ. This is what it means to be human — our hearts are a holy holding of every God-given emotion.

It’s like when Mary Magdalene wept outside Jesus’ tomb, the stone rolled away and His body gone. She wept, unsure of where Jesus’ body lay and possibly replaying flashbacks of the cross.

Still, she also wondered, stooping to look inside the tomb. She wondered, seeking a glimmer of hope, keeping faith though she wept from grief.

And the risen Jesus, with two simple questions, made a sacred space for Mary’s story: “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” (John 20:15, ESV) … as if to acknowledge both her hurt and her hope. Perhaps this is what I needed that day as I stood at my grandfather’s tomb — someone to make space for it all.

This Easter, maybe your heart is holding equal parts hurt and hope. You’re afraid and in awe of all you carry.

Whatever emotions you carry into this day, know that Jesus not only saves you from your sins, but He also simply sits with you — in your joy, grief, fear and wonder.

Jesus is the One who overcame the grave and the One who comes close to us.

Jesus is the One we praise and proclaim until — hallelujah — His Kingdom comes.

God, You stand with us in our sorrow and our joy. We will praise and preach Your name, always telling others of the power of Your great love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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