Easter Emptiness

 

Easter has been bittersweet over the past 20 years.  Twenty-two years ago, the day after Easter that year, my dad passed away.   Daddy always loved Easter and it was fitting that it would be this holiday that our Dear Lord decided He needed another angel in heaven.   I believe I can say this with a fair amount of certainty that our family has had a bit of emptiness in their hearts since then.

Daddy didn’t believe in emptiness!  An empty wallet?  Not a chance!  Daddy would hide a $20 in his wallet in a special spot where he didn’t normally check to ensure he always had money on him – and has passed that along to the rest of us.  An empty gas tank?  Not on Daddy’s watch!  The ‘low fuel’ light was never on in Daddy’s car – he was filling up before that quarter tank needle hit the screen.  An empty refrigerator?  Never in my parent’s home!  Daddy had a place in the grocery store on a regular basis to ensure that didn’t happen!

There were many areas where Daddy wanted to ensure were never empty.  The most important, though, was Daddy’s soul.  He certainly had many reasons to lose hope throughout his life.  From a childhood in a very poor coal-mining town outside of Pittsburgh, to the Korean War and then later in his life as he suffered many years with difficult health issues.  He would spend months in the hospital and had repeated surgeries that would have rivaled any person’s soul.  Daddy always kept God close to Him.  He definitely knew he had a direct line to God and wasn’t about to let that go to waste.  My mom and dad always taught us that talking to God was the best soul-filler.  I hope I have shared that cherished gift of knowledge with my children.

On that Easter morning so long ago, there was an emptiness that was good for all mankind.  The emptiness of the tomb.  Although the boulder was rolled away and Jesus was no longer inside, the emptiness yielded a fullness for all of us to partake!  Jesus didn’t disappear, Jesus rose from the dead!  Our lives were no longer lived in desperation, but hope.  It was at Jesus’ rising that all those who believed would never have to suffer the chains of hell, but would live eternal lives in paradise. 

I woke up this morning and looked out at the beautiful sunshine.  Before my toes touched the floor, in my heart I said, “He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!”  Those should be my thoughts EVERY morning, not just Easter morning.  My soul can be empty at times.  The pressures of work and the world around me can lead me to thoughts of emptiness.  Shame on me!  There is always hope, even in the darkest of days.  There is always joy, even in the greatest despair.  This life we are living on Earth is filled with hope and joy as our Lord is with us, He’s in us, filling up all the empty spots!  Jesus asks so little from us for all that He gives to us.  All He wants from us is to have simple faith!  Faith that He rose from the dead for our sins; faith that we will see Him again in paradise.  Let us all join our simple faith together this Easter Sunday and share it with the world.  Let’s take the Easter Emptiness of the tomb and fill up the world!  May you all have a blessed Easter.

Dearest Jesus, we shout “He is Risen” this Easter morning!  Thank you for giving the world the empty tomb so we will forever be able to fill our souls with your grace and mercy.  Make we take the wonder of Easter and carry it with us for all to see.  Amen!