Day 39: Good Friday
“When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?’ ...Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.”
~Mark 15:33-39
...it begins like most people: I was raised in a Christian family.
We attended church weekly, my parents taught Sunday School, dad sang in the choir, mom played handbells, we said prayers at night and blessings before meals. These years were a great foundation for my life with God, but my true journey began later.
We attended church weekly, my parents taught Sunday School, dad sang in the choir, mom played handbells, we said prayers at night and blessings before meals. These years were a great foundation for my life with God, but my true journey began later.
In 2005, I married Tony, who has been a member of this church his entire life. Early in our marriage, we missed church more often than we attended, but we soon became parents to a precious baby girl: Holland Miche. I wanted to be the best mom possible and wanted to teach her to love God with all their heart, but where do you begin if you have been lacking as a Christian? Who do you look to as a role model? I turned to God with these questions, and my journey began to look much different.
Six years have passed since God blessed us with Holland and four since her little sister Keeghan joined our family. Some days I struggle to be a good mother and better Christian, other days seem easier, but one of the times I struggled with both was when I received a call that my 55 year old mother had passed away. Though she had been ill, no one was prepared for her to die. I received the call shortly after midnight on Father's Day 2011 and I spent the night wondering how I was going to explain to my 3 year old that she would never see her “Honey” again. How do you explain God and Heaven to an innocent child when you, yourself, are angry at God for taking away your mother unexpectedly? How can you be a good mother, protector, comforter to your children when you are hurting so badly yourself?
During Lent and Easter, we study Jesus' journey to the cross, but we also should reflect on the Heavenly Father's journey during this time. Our instinct as parents is to protect and comfort our children and ensure they are safe. Jesus’s journey to the Cross had to be difficult on God the Father—especially when Jesus asks him why he had forsaken him. Mark 15:34 reads, “And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?")." I can only imagine the pain the Father felt in seeing the suffering of his only child, but God let his son perish on the cross in order to wash our sins away.
I think at some point I realized in my own loss that God had not forsaken me, that he would never leave me. My personal loss was a time for me to lean on him and gather strength from him to be a comforter to those around me. We explained Heaven the best we could that day and told Holland and Keeghan that Honey was healthy now with God. When we say our nightly prayers it is also an opportunity for us to talk to Honey and tell her we miss her and one day we will see her again…
My Journey to the Cross is far from over but I walk today knowing that all things are possible in Christ.
For prayers today, we invite you to visit (and/or pray for those who visit)
the “Stations of the Cross” experience
Open from 9am to 9pm— starting in the FUMC chapel.
the “Stations of the Cross” experience
Open from 9am to 9pm— starting in the FUMC chapel.
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