The Day After Easter

Monday, Monday... I hope you all had a sparkling weekend and a blessed Resurrection Day! This is the first day in a while that I can leisurely sit down with my tea and enjoy some catching up with you. There was much work to be done last week, and by the time the weekend came, the minutes kept filling up with adventures, road trips, strawberries, and slightly unexpected guests. Strangely enough, I took no photos this weekend, just let all the joy and friendship seep into memories. 

Among other things, we took a last minute road trip to the other side of the island, and since it was Earth Day, we stopped at two of three possible Starbucks to keep refilling our thermoses with free iced tea. Driving along the coast is a favorite of mine, and good company makes it even better. 

On Easter Sunday, we had a group of our good friends over for our traditional lunch after church. Let it be said, the jelly beans had a very short life. Two epic games of "Jacuzzi" later, we found ourselves at the tennis court, where I proceeded to embarrass myself with my obvious problem with depth perception. I never was very athletic, but had more fun than I thought I would. 

It was amazing to be able to spend these days with such great friends and family, and I am so thankful, knowing how undeserving I am. The other day, I overheard someone say that Good Friday meant you had to be a good person, that it reminded you to do penance and whatnot. This stuck me as very sad, as I thought this completely missed the point of Good Friday, the day Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sins of His people. He died because we could never be good enough to cover our sin, because there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Only by grace are we saved through faith. Being good has nothing to do with it. If we know that Jesus died for us, then we should be filled with a desire to obey Him out of gratitude. The incredible hope of the Resurrection that we celebrate on Easter Sunday should fill us with hope and belief that Jesus conquered death, that we will overcome through Him. This is true love. This is a freedom beyond measure.

hibiscus after the rain