Remembering

The night before last, I woke up with what I can only assume was a fresh version of the flu. It. Was. Awful. I was awake almost all night and then all of yesterday, I rolled and moaned on the couch, napping during Hallmark movies. I am feeling some better now, but good grief! I did not see that one coming!

So while I had planned to spend much time constructing a thoughtful Easter post for you today, I fear it may be an incoherent, medicine-induced stream-of-consciousness display. For that, I apologize.

Because my family always participated in the Marion Easter Pageant when I was growing up, Easter became all about that for us. In the weeks leading up to Easter, we reported to rehearsals, listened to our cassettes (!?!?!) of the sound track, and prepared to remember Jesus' sacrifice through the reenactment of the Pageant.

Once the building where it was held had to be condemned and they ceased production of the Pageant, Easter was never quite the same for me. I never again found the perfect thing to be part of that would help my mind and heart prepare in the same way the Pageant had helped me to do.

A few years ago, they brought the Pageant back in a modified way, and while I'm really glad new generations get to be part of it, my heart is with the original. It always will be.

So last night, once I felt I could actually stay awake for an hour, I pulled out my DVD of the original Pageant and watched it straight through.

So many memories! In every single scene, I relived what Easter had come to mean to me because of what I learned from those scenes. It probably isn't powerful to anyone else in the same way it is to me (unless of course, it's someone else who has also been part of it).

Today I will hopefully feel better than I did yesterday, and I'll remember the sacrifice Jesus made on a Friday like this one so many years ago. And Sunday I'll celebrate the resurrection and remember my gratitude for what He made possible in conquering the grave.

We all remember in our own ways. We all have our own memories that make Easter Easter. Yours may not match mine, but remember with me today, won't you?