moments of grace

this week's moment of grace: i went to a sunrise service on Easter Sunday...

something i have wanted to do for, oh, my whole LIFE.

when the kids were little, it was a pipe dream

because getting them up, fed, dressed, and to church STILL dressed and clean 

by 9 AM was just enough to handle.

and then by the time they were teens, we had stopped going to church
for a lot of reasons.

i honestly find it hard to believe
that as much as i have always wanted to go to a Christmas Eve Midnight service
and an Easter Sunday Sunrise service,
i never made a point of just getting up and going by myself.

but now, i can go to church whenever and wherever i want to!

i can sing and pray on the beach or on a walk or in the car

and i can worship with twenty thousand people in a stadium on a sunny day

or with a choir of 12 in a historic church at midnight

or with a few thousand folks in a dark amphitheater early on Easter morning...

i gathered with others in the wee hours

listened to a children's choir sing 'Halleluia'
[brought back SO many memories....]
and then as the sun began to lighten the morning sky,

the crowd joined in song with the worship team to belt out 

Keith Green's 'Easter Song' .
it was truly a dream realized.

how my soul was rejoicing!

certainly it's because Jesus is Risen...

but also because my faith is, too.

every day.