Easter Hangover

I believe I need to be honest.  I need to just put it out there and admit to my situation.  I have an Easter hangover.  I said it.  I confessed.  It’s true you know, I have an Easter hangover.  When the sun rose this morning, I thought I should be singing . . . with a small group . . . outside. The sunrise was bright, radiant, transforming, not it’s usual glowing picturesque orb-like rising.  It was glorious!

There are more evidences of my condition.

My house, cleaned to its sparkle-y shine-y best in preparation of Easter company, remains in said condition.  The company came, it was a fabulous time! Yet, somehow, before I tucked myself between my sheets, everything that had been used, played with, eaten off of, examined, laughed over, shared, enjoyed had been returned to its own hide away. I’m having hard-boiled eggs for breakfast, delightfully colored ones.  I keep singing (in my head, of course) the songs we sang yesterday at church.  My heart overflows with gratitude with even the tiniest thought of Forgiveness, Redemption and Salvation.  I have an Easter hangover.

I was reading this morning in the first chapter of Colossians.  As usual, when trying to figure out what Paul is saying in his exceedingly long sentences, that are just way too extensive for this simple minded English teacher, I broke it down.  I create short phrases that I arrange and rearrange as I study the passage, seeking out the connections that Paul was making between the various ideas.  I discovered something about myself. Even though I am not an achiever, like my husband, making lists and checking things off, I do like to know that I’ve accomplished something.  As I looked at Colossians 1, I realized I often focus on the phrase in verse 10, “live a life worthy of the Lord.”  That’s not a bad idea, it’s a great way to check and double check one’s attitudes and actions, making sure to reflect the Glory of God to the best of one’s abilities. And there in lies my problem. I keep focusing on MY abilities.

With my Easter hangover, I was able to see some connections that I’d missed before.  In verse 9 Paul says to the people in Colosse, “we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”  He tells them he is praying this for them so that they can live a life worthy of the Lord. The Sweet Holy Spirit reminded me this morning that I need to be more concerned with gaining “spiritual wisdom and understanding.”  For me this says I need to know God more.  The more I know about who He is, what He longs for, how He works, the ways He desires to love me the more I will grasp what His will is.  The more I grasp what His will is, the better I will “live a life worthy of the Lord.”  It’s more than just living, there is a very distinct element of knowing.  The best part is as I know God more, He moves in my life so that I naturally life a life worthy of who He is. Talk about an Easter Hangover!

But, Wait!  There’s more that my “Easter eyes” perceived!  I was captivated by the phrase “we have not stopped praying for you….”  My journey of getting to know God better needs prayer.  I need to be praying, communicating with God.  Not just asking things from Him, but actually conversing back and forth with God Almighty.  I need to listen, ask questions, seek understanding, share in the moment, laugh a little, share my heart, just like I do when I go to coffee with my girlfriends. I need to pray that I gain wisdom, but there are others that I am in relationship with that God has given me the honor, privilege and responsibility to pray for, so that they may also gain wisdom, just as I know there are those God challenges to pray for me.

I’m enjoying my Easter hangover.  I’m believing this hangover could last a while; it’s a nice condition to have.  I spent a little more time just talking with Jesus today.  My eyes are more open to grasping nuances of His personality that I had missed before. My mind is processing ideas and seeking to put more than A and B together.  I long to KNOW Him.  I desire to live in the words of a song the choir sang yesterday, “His kingdom is all my heart is seeking.  His promise is all that I can trust.  His presence is my reward forever.  His riches are enough.”

And just so you know, I’m praying for you.