The Report

April 05, 2015

The other day, dark scary looking clouds rolled in and we had a rainstorm with hail and loud thunder. I am not a lover of thunderstorms.

The following morning though, I opened my front door to go outside, it was quite a change from the day before. The birds were singing, skies were blue and it smelled nice and fresh out.

A person never knows what a new day will bring.

Like the day I answered the phone and the doctor’s office informed me they were sending me to a specialist due to some question on the report they had received from a test I had taken. Alarm bells rang loud for me. I looked up the reason they had given me on the internet and couldn’t find anything.

So I had to wait. Waiting can be hard. Controlling my imagination during the waiting time can be harder.

A few days later, I received the report in the mail with a note from the doctor again explaining I would need to be referred on to a specialist.

My eyes got wide with fear and my heart pounded when I read the report. It looked terrifying. It definitely wasn't something I was expecting. Especially since I was feeling so good.

I Googled some of the findings on my phone and it only made me feel worse. It was very vague, some people with the same findings only needed to be watched by the specialist.Through exercise and less stress things could go on pretty good. Other’s needed surgery or medication and well some people…

One very small comfort was that it was common to be found at my age. Gulp.That was a very, very, small comfort.

That night I tried not to worry. I prayed instead. Then I worried. I prayed. I was afraid of what could happen to me because of the findings. I needed to have sleep and not be stressed out in order to help the situation. Uh…okay.

I had a very fitful sleep. Quite a few times, I would fall asleep and then suddenly awaken with the thought of what had been found in the test. I tried not to think of the worst case scenario and I would hope and I would pray, pray, pray it would not happen to me.

When I woke up in the morning, I was tired, but I was so incredibly happy that not one of my worries happened during the night and I was alive and well, able to start another day.

I felt blessed to have the entire day ahead of me. Thank you God was in my mind all day. I decided to quit worrying. When I see the specialist, he can give me facts, instead of what I am conjuring up in my mind.

So now…this day is a gift. A wonderful gift. I don’t want to waste time worrying.

Over a couple thousand years ago, there were a group of men and women who received a report. A final report.

Jesus is dead.

When I read about the disciples hiding in fear after Jesus death, I try to envision how they felt and what thoughts were going through their mind.

Jesus was their leader. Their teacher. They had followed him everyday and night for a couple of years. He was the hope for their future. And now He was gone.

What about Peter? During his last moment with the Lord, he had denied even knowing him. Peter went away and wept. Can you imagine the added anguish when he heard Jesus had died.

Have you ever said the wrong thing to someone and just totally regretted it and didn't have a way to fix it?

Well Peter had absolutely no way to fix his mistake. Jesus was gone.

The others had ran and hid in fear when Jesus had been arrested. Can you imagine their fear now that their leader had been killed? Surely, the thought of “who’s next?” ran through their mind.

Then there was John who watched Jesus die. He was there during the earthquake, the thunder, and the darkness after the death of Jesus.

It may have been dark on the outside but can you imagine how dark he felt inside from the grief and horror of watching what happened to his Lord?

Friday and Saturday were probably very dark, long, lonely days for the followers of Jesus. On Sunday, I can only assume how weary they felt dealing with the report of Jesus death.

But then that Sunday morning, the women who went to attend to Jesus returned from His grave, excited, full of good news.

“He’s alive!” Not only that, Jesus true to who He was, made sure to tell the ladies to let Peter know he was alive. Jesus obviously wasn't mad at Peter. Peter was still part of his crowd!

I bet, even though some of them thought the women were loco, that a bit of hope and light started to shine in that room after their report.

Can you step back into time and imagine the moment?!

Then Peter and John took off and raced to Jesus’s grave to discover…THE GOOD REPORT WAS TRUE!

It’s TRUE!

Jesus is not dead. He is truly alive.

Though the time was dark.

The time was painful.

The time was hopeless.

Little did his disciples and other followers know…Jesus was doing a MIGHTY work.

He came back to his people and they went and spread the good news. Because that is what it is. Jesus came to set the captives free. Jesus paid the price for all of our wrongs.

He loves us. He wants a relationship with us. He wants us to follow Him, and He has a great place for us to go. When our path here on earth leads to it’s end, He leads us right into His kingdom.

Yes, storms roll in, bad reports come our way, pain, suffering, it’s all a part of life. But so is joy, peace, comfort, and love. And Jesus makes all of those things, good and bad, better by His touch.

When the clouds roll in, the thunder roars and the lightning strikes, the sun shines above it all. It consistently shines even during the storms.

Jesus is always there even during our storms.

Happy Easter!