Holidays..and counting chairs

It's another beautiful day, and in the promise of the Easter story comes hope and renewal and rejuvenation. The "new normal" is to understand more fully the significance of each holiday, each day, really. While this day is not really unlike any other, it holds a special place as celebrations and family rituals evolve. Holidays do that, and in loss, they are painful, yet joyous. I embrace them, set the table, make the meal, coordinate the colors, all in the name of tradition. I haven't always hosted the Easter dinner, the Haake women have taken turns, but back in the day, it was always at Grandma's house. Why is it that her ham and her augratin potatoes taste so much better than mine?! This year, it is here in our home and is a welcome diversion in many ways. I shopped for the food, am in the process of preparing, silently going about my way, thanking our God above for the blessings and for the resurrection which surely took Jesus from victim to victor. He refused to succumb and be a martyr as he endured the ultimate and complete suffering, instead, he asked his God to forgive and bless those who inflicted the pain. What a story and what a legacy and what a reason to rejoice this day. The lessons are limitless when we keep understanding and comprehending just what this day means to each of us.

So, Christians gather and celebrate the story and the life we were given through the promise of that suffering and resurrection. And we bring our families together in the name of Easter, enjoy a dinner, embrace the time together, for in our family, as in most, we know life can be all too short. One day we will set the table and find that the chair that was occupied is no longer needed, or that someone else will occupy it, or that new birth will occur and a new generation will bloom, taking the seat of a mother, father, sister, brother, daughter, son, niece, nephew, grandparent. There is nothing more heart and gut wrenching than to expect that person at the table, only to realize, we don't need to set that place for her this time. The empty chair cries out and we are sad and in pain. But the cycle of life goes around and around, and in our loss, we know that our precious one lives on in the heartbeat and core of our soul, that they are not ever truly absent, that the promise comes that today is all we have, and that in God's word, one day, when it is His timing, we will find the sweet reunion and fill the chair in His kingdom. For now, through tears and grief, we must find the joys, as we watch the neighbors hunt for Easter eggs, as we look out at Allison's tree and view the pink buds, as we understand the meaning of the cross, as we cling to hope and light and love, and celebrate what we can in this day of opportunity.