Resurrection Moments

Resurrection. We hear that word, and something stirs inside of our weary souls. We are all too familiar with other daily realities waging a steady assault that challenge the idea of resurrection: disappointment, exhaustion, lost hope, apathy, over-busy, over-stressed, over-strained living. Resurrection can seem like a truth that is beautiful, but far-removed from our daily existence. 

Resurrection. We need to be reminded that a Savior who victoriously shattered death and rescued us from the kingdom of darkness is more than able to resurrect abundant-life-joy in our everyday lives. One thing that I treasure as I get to serve with Alongside Families is the opportunity to see resurrection-moments all around me through our partner churches, volunteers, and the families that we serve. Blink and you might miss them. Not because they're insignificant, but because resurrection-moments are often small-- a choice here, a sacrifice of comfort there, a faithful persistence when giving up makes the most sense-- and the very strongholds of hell are shaken. Blink, and you'll miss the reality that we serve a Savior who is making everything new. Blink, and you won't see the Christ-followers living out resurrection moments for the sake of His kingdom.

Three weeks ago, I sat in the urgent care waiting room with a single mom already bowed under a load of crushing life circumstances. ...And then her toddler came down with a 104-degree fever right in the middle of it all, like a last straw floating down to rest on the tippy top of a pile of impossible things. We sent out an urgent need to Alongside Families volunteers: Could anyone come sit with a stressed mother so that she wouldn't have to care for a sick toddler and a newborn baby in a waiting room alone for hours? Could someone step in to offer a little bit of hope?

Almost immediately, a volunteer responded and showed up at urgent care. As the two mothers sat together, the Host Mom volunteer asked, "Would it help if I cared for your baby for a night or two while your little guy is sick? I could host him to at least give you a little bit of a break with your toddler." The young mom very gratefully accepted. When I thanked the Host Mom for the offer, she responded, "Oh, this works out well. My husband and I are having a child-free weekend with my own four boys with their grandparents, so it's a little easier to bring home the baby."

And just like that everything slowed around me for a moment. Don't blink. Take a moment to see what God is doing-- Resurrection. This is what Christ-love looks like in action: One mom cheerfully giving up her child-free weekend to care for another mom's baby so that hopelessness and despair couldn't win. What might God do with that one act of faithfulness? Do we forget that the small, inconvenient, mundane acts are often the most meaningful to a watching world?

Resurrection. The next day, the young mom told me that she had been afraid to reach out to us for support for over a year. She didn't know if we could be trusted. She was grateful that strangers had been willing to so quickly support her and her little ones. Her experience led her to share that she would be encouraging other isolated moms that she knows to reach out to us for help. Who knows how many hurting families might be connected into community because of the "Yes" of one couple who sacrificed a child-free Saturday?

Friends, we have a Savior who has already accomplished the ultimate resurrection. And we have a Savior who is working, right now, to carry out His resurrection work. We get to be a part of what He is doing. Walk through today with your eyes wide open. Look for resurrection-moments. Ask Jesus for opportunities to share resurrection-hope with someone else today. Yes, today is Friday. But Sunday is coming. Resurrection!

Reposted from March 29, 2024