Douglas faithfully dyed Easter eggs when the kids were little; he carefully hid them, too. So carefully, sometimes I found a couple when later in the spring as I weeded.

This year, of course, dying Easter eggs was not on my agenda of must-dos; nor on Doug’s either.   For that matter, celebrating Easter 2020 will be . . . like none we have ever observed. No lavish worship, fancy meal, or jelly beans. Yours, too, will feel different  I’ll wager, no matter your religious affiliation!

In these weeks of isolation, contemplation, creativity:

I’ve learned this about myself — that beneath my superficial exterior lies an inner spirit that just wants to party. Robert Brault

I miss parties — even if ours have become smaller. Now, routine events become stellar attractions. The grandkids wanted to visit our back yard for a photo shoot for a school project. It was so great to see them! And yes, we stayed 6 feet apart . . .

Finally, I could safely show them ALL my paintings —  An impromptu art show in fresh air. And they liked them . . . nothing like a grandchild asking for one of your paintings!

Of course, even I was startled to see just how many canvases I have covered in the past three weeks.

Impromptu Art Show: No Buyers, but a few TAKERS!

We watched less and less news this week . . . but we did read the papers!  The news isn’t any better, but it’s not complicated by people declaring what jerks everybody else is.

The news is unsettling. So, it helped to hear how a pastor prays for our leaders:

And so I’m praying earnestly for our leaders—many of whom I don’t like and think their attitudes stink—help the rest of us know how to make these calls because I surely don’t. (Hard Questions in Hard Times)

I don’t have to like everybody; I just have to ask God to help them do their work. And thank Him that solving the problems this pandemic generates is not up to me.

I am thanking God too for the free access to so much Christ-centered help, and the willingness that many have to explore the offerings!

Here are just a couple of links to meditations, from our church, and our former church in Dallas:

Not Blood, But Blamelessness 

 I Am The Way, The Truth and The Life

And here’s some advice that resonated this weekend:

These days, it’s obvious there’s little over which I have control . . . But in all of these things beyond my control, I can choose this. I can confess I’ve been chasing a worldly ideal that encourages me to shoulder on, to carry weights too heavy for me to bear. I can raise my hands in prayer—pleading, sorrowful, anxious, tired—and offer my burdens to Jesus. And I can take the easy yoke Jesus offers, resting in my weakness and reveling in the beauty of his strength. ~Trading Weakness for God’s Strength

Happy Easter 2020; it will be like no other in our lifetimes, even as the message is unchanging: Christ is Risen; He is risen indeed!

Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won’t stay there.  ~Clarence W. Hall