Easter Sunday: Death to Life

On Easter Sunday three years ago, I sat on a bed in a rented house in Florida, as the world I knew shattered.

Chad and I had been down there for a few days so he could photograph a wedding. It was my first trip to Florida, and I was in love with the heat, palm trees, and salty ocean air. Maybe with Chad a little, too. 😉

We spent that holiday morning watching kids hunt for eggs on a nearby island. It was an absolutely perfect day—sunny and quiet, with no clouds in sight. At least, none that I could see.

That afternoon, when we returned to the house we were sharing with some friends, Chad found out that my mom was trying to get hold of me. From the intel he gleaned from his parents, it sounded like someone from my family was in the hospital.

I called Mom back, dreading what I would learn, and she immediately told me to sit down.

“Your dad had a heart attack.” The words rang in my ears for hours afterward, as I attempted to navigate through the fog they created. Surely, I was dreaming. I can remember pinching myself, more than once, in an attempt to awaken.

But the nightmare continued. Dad was in a coma, and it wasn’t clear what would happen. So I boarded a plane early the next morning to fly home to Minnesota, leaving Chad and our friends behind in paradise.

It was my first time flying alone, but I don’t remember much except for the strange desire to spill my story to those around me, and the on-going debate in my head about whether or not Dad would die. I do recall feeling empty—wanting to cry to release my pain, but unable to summon the feelings that would bring forth tears.

My aunt, uncle and sister picked me up at the airport in Minneapolis, my adorable niece in tow. In her little voice, she informed me that Grandpa had a “big owie,” then told everyone to duck as we drove under a bridge.

Still, the tears refused to flow.

For the next three days, I sat with my family in hospital waiting rooms. We talked a lot, sharing some of our favorite stories about my dad—I learned quite a few things about him that I hadn’t known. There was also laughter (it wouldn’t be my family if there wasn’t laughter!) and prayer. So much prayer!

Though I hoped and prayed for an outcome in which Dad would stay with us here on earth, I felt God speaking softly to my heart during those hospital days, preparing me for what was to come.

On Wednesday evening, a little more than 72 hours after his heart gave out, Dad left this life, surrounded by a room full of family and friends. It was a beautiful good-bye, filled with prayers, tears, and music from my brother’s guitar. He played Dad to Heaven.

Whenever I talk about this experience with other people, I say that it was a bittersweet farewell. Bitter, because of the obvious (the gaping hole it left inside me), but sweet because…well, because of what Easter is all about.

When Christ sacrificed himself for our sins, a pathway was reopened that had been closed at the Fall in Eden: a way to relationship with God that brings us new life in Eternity. This is a promise and a hope that He has given us.

It’s this hope that mends the hole left behind by the loss of my dad, and instills in me the knowledge that the hospital room good-bye will not be forever.

There is a day that’s coming when all will be made new, and we’ll be reunited with the ones we’ve lost.

None of this would be possible without the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. Without Him, death would be a permanent end. Now it’s a new beginning.

Thank God for that! It’s with this hope hidden in my heart, and engraved upon my mind, that I can greet each new Easter morning and rejoice. I thank God for the past—the sacrifice of His Son, the time I had with my earthly father—and also for the future: an eternity filled with endless joy, after all who died in Christ are reunited.

This is a hope that we all can share in, through surrender to Jesus Christ. My prayer is that all of you have a share in it on this glorious day!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead… 1 Peter 1:13 ESV

Happy Easter, friends. God bless!