Happy Good Friday?

The past few days I've been feeling off. I've been getting frustrated and impatient with the kids a lot, over-exhausted with a sinus headache that just won't go, letting me know that I'm getting the cold the rest of our household has... still no excuse for losing my cool.

Then I think of a conversation I had last weekend with a friend of mine. She was telling me about a Muslim friend of hers who was trying to figure out how to could greet her during the Easter season out of love and respect for her. "Do I wish you a 'Happy Good Friday'" she asked? My friend responded that no! That was the day they killed Jesus! It's on the Sunday that we celebrate, for He rose again!

Good Friday. I prefer the French term "Vendredi Saint" - Holy Friday, as "good" makes it sound like it's a party day! That, it is not... What a day for me to have a morning of losing my cool with my kids with impatience... a day when the gravity of my messing up is all too real... remembering that Jesus had to die on the cross for me... for my many moments of messing up... so that I would have the opportunity to be made right with God and see Him in heaven one day... So, today, on Good Friday, I find myself again asking for forgiveness for messing up, thankful, though saddened by the immense sacrifice that was done on my behalf because I could never be perfect enough to earn my way to heaven... no, His gruesome death was required. Ouch! (click here to read more on that...)

Then I can't help but think of Sunday... because I thank God the story didn't end on the sombre Holy Friday! As Easter's been approaching, I've actually been thinking a lot about my late uncle Ted the past little while. He was like a grand-father figure in our family... Easter was a most Holy and serious time of year for him. We knew to never bother him in the time leading up to Easter as he was preoccupied with practicing his organ in preparation. Once the Easter morning service was done, we could visit and he would unmistakably greet us with "He is RISEN!" at which we would respond "He is risen indeed!"

So today we reflect on the gravity of Christ's death on the cross and what it means to us personally... but soon we party! For He is risen indeed!

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

"He was handed over to die because of our sins, and was raised to life to make us right with God." Romans 4:25 (New Living Translation)