i’ll be here for a while still
I’m still thinking about Easter.
Shocking, I know, since all the Easter candy in Target has probably already been replaced with Fourth of July crap decorations. But what can I say? My heart is still there.
My heart is stuck in the empty tomb that isn’t really empty.
It’s filled with hope.
Promise.
Undeserved freedom.
Scandalous grace.
I’m sticking around here because my heart aches to really, truly believe.
All the way down in my toes, I want to believe that what seems like the end isn’t really the end.
When it’s over, lost, gone, broken beyond repair… that’s when things have really just begun.
The best isn’t behind me but ahead of me. The glory of what’s to come far outweighs the glory of what was. Life after death is so much more extraordinary than life before it.
Wholeness comes from brokenness.
Beauty is birthed in ashes.
Strength is made perfect in weakness.
So bring on your summer plastic wear and star-spangled centerpieces. You know where to find me if you need me.
I’ll be chillin’ in that empty-yet-abundantly-full tomb.
LOVE IT!!! There is so much truth in all that you said…now, to get my HEAD to line up with my HEART!
Glad to know I’m not alone. Seriously, God and I were talking less than an hour ago, and I told Him I feel like I’m staring at the tomb waiting for the dead to walk out and live.
And the thing that keeps me staring is that One who was dead DID walk out and live…and now so do I…so surely there is still hope.
@gritandglory says:
“and now so do i… so surely this is still hope” — amen, jerri. so good.
Ok, really. We’re meeting when you’re in California. Period, the end :)
@randishort says:
Thank you girl!
I’ve been “fiddling” with a tune for a while trying to put words to it. This morning I went home and picked up the guitar and the simplest phrase, taken from Luke 24:5-6, saying “why do you look for the living among the dead – He is risen! It’s resurrection day!” melded in there perfectly. In the midst of it God seemed to be saying “what’s your reaction to the empty tomb?” and then quietly “you give up far too soon.” The loss and despair felt PRIOR TO resurrection day is nothing compared to the hope found ON resurrection day. There is life in that empty tomb!
I got “whacked” upside the head with this truth the past couple of days, and especially this morning: once Easter weekend is over, we let go of the wonder of the cross and resurrection far too soon. He was resurrected yes! But He resurrects every single day… hope, dreams, faith, life. If we would, “chill” at the “empty-yet-abundantly-full tomb” maybe we would grasp that reality better!
Thank you again Alece!
I pray you do believe it – all the way down to your toes – that “Life after death is so much more extraordinary than life before it.”
Be blessed girl!
@atangie says:
My heart is stuck in the empty tomb that isn’t really empty.
Wow. Love you, girl!
“empty-yet-abundantly-full tomb” I never would have thought about the tomb this way. I love the perspective you have brought to something that at times can seem so ritual for me.
Love this…
Wholeness comes from brokenness.
Beauty is birthed in ashes.
Strength is made perfect in weakness.
I think Cinco de Mayo is the next important holiday. Can’t believe you skipped right over it ;)
I LOVE that holiday!
we need to go to CHUY’s!!!
@gritandglory says:
what’s that?!
it’s a really yummy mexican place in cool springs. we should go in a couple of weeks…
Sounds great!
@gritandglory says:
i do love me some cinco de mayo! i’ll be in oregon… hope them hodges, clayvilles, and stegalls know how to celebrate right!
why don’t you rub it in? ;) kidding. you guys are going to have a blast. and post lots of awkward videos with sombreros.
i was talking to @sarahmarkley last night (i’m crashing at her pad for #catwest) and she mentioned how excited that she was that you were going to be visiting too.
oh, and cockles… i just had to get it in one more time
I love your phrase, “scandalous grace”! It makes me think of checking out at the grocery store and seeing some magazine with news about a celebrity Jesus: “Jesus Dies for all Sinners— and Lives to Tell Why He’s Glad He Dit It” (obnoxious color and italics missing, of course!). Sometimes I get so used to the story that it becomes commonplace to me, and I get hit with such a blow when I realize that it’s not. It’s crazy. He took my place— our place— because it brought him joy. I don’t even like to take the blame for somebody else, even for something so small as being late to a fondue night. (Am I confessing? Yes.) The thing is, I can do “nice things” that spare others, but really— I might resent it for a while. Jesus? He did the biggest thing I can imagine, and doesn’t begrudge us.
Crazy.
@gritandglory says:
i get so accustomed with it too… i lose sight of the wonder, the miracle, of it all.
“and doesn’t begrudge us” – that’s one of the most amazing characteristics of God to me. that He isn’t mad at me. isn’t annoyed with me. doesn’t hold a grudge against me. i almost don’t know how to handle that, or respond to it.
glad you could get that off your chest about the fondue. ;)
@ScribeTH says:
Party in the empty tomb… for people who wait with patient expectance? Glory bound?
Sounds good to me. I’ll be there or be square.
@gritandglory says:
woah. “patient expectancy”. i need me some of that.
Me too! This Easter has been more meaningful to me than any other!
Love how you are allowing God to use this mess to mold you!
What beautiful words again! empty-yet-abundantly-full tomb…my favorite. Thank you!
You say in a sentence what I can’t manage to communicate in ten!! Thank you for the reminder — it is good to linger and ruminate on the Day that really set us free. And the Day new life began. And that sure ain’t the 4th! :)
Your words are often reminding me of the fish and the loaves, Alece — your brokenness is feeding a multitude.
xCC
@gritandglory says:
i’ve read your comment a few times and will probably read it a few more by the time the day is done. thank you for your amazingly encouraging words.
Bless you, Alece. Thank you for your words. I’m chillin’ out there, too.
@PrudyChick says:
So many things I’m pulling out of this:
Scandalous grace
Empty Full tomb
I’m going to have to allow this to stir around in my brain for a while.
I really want to believe what you’re believing, Alece.
“When it’s over, lost, gone, broken beyond repair… that’s when things have really just begun. The best isn’t behind me but ahead of me. The glory of what’s to come far outweighs the glory of what was. Life after death is so much more extraordinary than life before it.”
These four sentences made me remember by favorite quote:
Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over he became a butterfly.
You my dear are becoming that gorgeous butterfly. A caterpillar no more, no longer bound by this earth but free to soar and fly with the eagles.
Maybe this won’t make sense, but I’ll give it a go anyway.
Let me start by saying that I’ve been a believer since I was 6 yrs old. I thought I had a pretty good handle on my faith. Then my dad died in Oct ’96. He wasn’t just my dad, he had been my pastor for most of my life too. For the next couple of years, as Easter rolled around, I found myself getting angry. Not blatant, but definitely just below the surface. I took it out on my husband. I got snippy with my kids. It took a while, but I finally realized what I was angry about. Easter is all about the promise of resurrection. All I could think about in regard to resurrection was this – God, you raised Your Son from the dead. You even raised Lazarus from the dead. I’m not asking you to raise my dad from the dead, but he was only 52! Why did he have to die. (I can’t keep the tears at bay even as I type this! I guess the pain of missing him still hits close to home almost 14 yrs later) When I could put words to what I was feeling, then I was able to begin walking/stumbling out of it.
Now I can rejoice in the resurrection. On some level, in the core of who I am, I think I always did, because the truth of the resurrection is the foundation of our faith as believers. And I never doubted God or my relationship with Him. I was just angry and missing my dad. But the joy has returned and I’m glad.
And I’m always trying to keep my heart in the same place as my head when it comes to pursuing God. I’m not sure we ever stay there this side of heaven. It’s always a struggle. But when it happens, it’s so good. But I think the tension is healthy, cause it shows that we’re working on it.
So that’s all. Love and hugs from VA!
@gritandglory says:
thank you for sharing this, terri. so glad you’ve found the joy in easter again. what a journey.
@jclayville says:
me too. can i chill in there with you?
@gritandglory says:
i’d love that.
i love you friend ((internet hug))
“my heart is stuck…”
i care about your heart. i care about you.
hmmm…. what does the tomb represent to you today friend? (represent to YOU) (represent to you TODAY). Not yesterday or tomorrow… just today?
want me to sit in here with you for awhile and maybe we can figure it out together?
we don’t have to if you don’t want.
i’ll just sit with you awhile… ((Hug))
@gritandglory says:
what does the tomb represent for me today? my unknown future, my rising medical bills, my aloneness…
i want to see and believe in hope.
(thank you for sitting in here with me.)
yes friend… i’m here still sitting… and listening. when you are used to facing these fears with someone it somehow seems more bearable… and then when that “someone” pulls the rug out from under you, but leaves you with all of the worries… it can feel like a tomb for your soul…
i’m so sorry.
i want you to see hope too. i want for you to grab God’s hand and walk out of the tomb with Him. i know i can’t fix it… but i can pray for hope to lighten the path out for you…
so today, i pray…
Holding on to this: that “The glory of what’s to come far outweighs the glory of what was.”
i’m guessing there’s plenty of room for all of us at that empty, yet abundantly full tomb;)
@pa3cia says:
“Scandalous grace.” LOVE THAT.
@lynselstevens says:
love it. and im right there with ya.
@kylereed says:
I have been thinking about the same thing.
I asked myself this question yesterday:
“How will Easter change You?”
I wrote about the hangover effect of easter and sadly the only hangover i get from easter is a candy hangover.
It seems that I just gloss over the symbolism of Easter and move on to the next holiday. Forgetting the only reason we have something called Easter, Christ resurrection.
@gritandglory says:
“the hangover effect of easter” — that’s good, kyle. why am i so quick to forget?!
@kylereed says:
Well I do not know about you, but I know for me it is because of the emotion and even hype that is put into Easter. Everything builds up to that day, but once it is over you start to ask yourself, “okay now what?”
Almost like a kid on the day after Christmas asking how many more days until Christmas?
It just seems that we tend to focus on the event but leave the same.
Wow!! Just wow. Great…and so needed today.
Thank you.
God is scandalous, isn’t he? I like that about him.
It’s amazing to me when i think about the power of the resurrection, and what that means for all of us. It changes so many things. Everything, in fact.
It’s even more amazing to me when I think about how quick I am to forget about that very same power….
@tracybart says:
Sometimes I stand in my livingroom, when no else is home and I turn up the worship music, and often imagine myself standing in the empty tomb (that’s so full) and dancing with HIM…..strange, I know, but so beautiful and personal! So thankful for that empty tomb!! Thanks for putting in such beautiful words!
@gritandglory says:
that is awesome!
@kamriereed says:
Great idea. I always loved fourth of July fireworks. Just the thought of the dangers of the fireworks makes me want to lite something on fire. Now when I light that fire work I will think of true freedom instead of America’s independence.
@cassgirl says:
The greatest thing that i pulled away from easter this year was that i still have 8 more months of 2010 to act resurrected…
be resurrected in my friendships
be resurrected in my walk with God
be resurrected in how I love
The list is long….
But today, I’m just gonna sit… loving you!!
i’m still in there with you. i think it’s a great place to be right now.
my husband confessed his affair to me in january. it’s been a LONG 2010, but Easter is bringing me hope for a new life and a new marriage. and getting to know God in ways i never have before. i’ve lived in the gloom and pain long enough, i’m trying to now accept God’s love, grace, strength and power! and the life He wants to give His daughter.
enjoy the tomb my friend! celebrate His amazing, unending love and power!
@gritandglory says:
oh wow, vicky. my heart aches for yours today. and also rejoices with you for the new hope you’re clinging to.
Easter is a good place to linger. I wish I remembered to do it longer.
I’ve left you an award over at my blog!
Dont be Afraid.Not let the “devil” use his best gun “Discouragement” against you. Allways you will see the sunshine after the darkest moment. trust in God, he is not a man to lie or betray you. and he is alive !!! . PS: I will keep you in my prayers.
@christielici0us says:
Allowing yourself to be broken is the hard part. I work on it everyday.
Another beautiful post, Alece. Thank you. Just know that every single day, God is using you. There’s a reason I found you, and your constant encouragement must be it!
Alece,
that’s so amazing how He inspires us through each other… i just wrote the post “The After Party and the Empty Tomb” lickity split, inspired by this post of yours… thank you :-)
Chris
This is a beautiful post.
Through my heartache, there are so many times I turn to the Lord and say, “Lord you PROMISED in your Word that You are sufficient and You are my strength in weakness. Please come to me now” and He is so sufficient, it’s so true.
Thank you for your honesty. I’ve been reading for a while, not sure if I’ve commented before :)
@gritandglory says:
thank you, alicia.
“He is so sufficient”. i’m learning to turn to Him more quickly…
Wholeness comes from brokenness…but at the moment, I would prefer the kind of wholeness that comes from never being broken in the first place.
@gritandglory says:
sigh…
me too.
Its good to hang out here. I was talking to Dan about how Easter is like the least popular “holiday” when it is the most important one ever along with good friday. Every year I think of doing something for good friday but then don’t. How sad and wrong. On a lighter note I went to Target and they don’t have 4th of july stuff but next to the easter sale stuff they are getting summer and grilling stuff.
reminds me of this, which i read today…
“Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
Some of you say, “Joy is greater thar sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.”
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits, alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.
Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.” – khalil gibran
@gritandglory says:
ooooh, what a great mental picture. thank you for passing that along.
@elainaavalos says:
I think this is my favorite post of yours. These are truths I know but I haven’t necessarily appropriated in the last week or two. I needed the reminder. I think I need to hang out at the empty tomb myself…
@thevelvettrunk says:
“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself RESTORE you and make you STRONG, FIRM and STEADFAST…”
- 1 Pet 5:10
It’s not over girl… =)
Love & Hugs,
Mel
@hannahruthie says:
“Life after death is so much more extraordinary than life before it.”
This year I have watched my roommate, who is one of my best friends, come to know Jesus. I think it’s the first time I have watched someone come from so far away from God and into knowing Him so well that she challenges me in my faith every day.
Life after death is definitely more extraordinary than life before it — even in our own lives.