Friday has passed and we look toward the morning!  We look with anticipation and a sense of joy because we know the “end of the story”.

But the men and women who followed Jesus for 3 years and had come to love him and depend on him were devastated!  They didn’t wait with anticipation and joy.  They waited in despair.

Have you had those dark times when you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face?  Days when you didn’t want to see the dawn - but hoped & prayed the dawn with it’s bright light would come.  SOON!

Those of us who have entered the 2nd half of the journey may have had many of those seasons in our lives.  Hopefully, we’ve moved through them and found the meaning amidst the ashes of the experience.

When I look at Scripture - it’s life blueprints, patterns & processes - it always works better for me when I look at it from ‘their’ perspective.  The perspective of those who were living it at the time.

What must it have been like for them?  Their leader; their “Rabboni” had died a horrible death just hours before.  They must have been in shock.

And they were scared!  They hid from the religious and secular authorities because they believed they would be “next”. 

Although they were ‘leaderless’, they had each other!  Strong bonded relationships had grown deep and secure (with the exception of one) over 3 short years.  At least we have each other must have gone through their minds.

It was little consolation though!  It was more than Jesus just being a strong dynamic leader who took them from obscurity to maturity.  Each of them had come to love him.  They wanted to walk with him through the years and now he was gone. 

It didn’t occur to them to examine what he’d told them at dinner Thursday night for some glimmer of trust or hope.  It didn’t occur to them to organize themselves and begin the work of rebuilding after the collapse of all they’d known.

It’s often like that with us.  We have what it takes to walk blindly in the dark with an amazing trust and hope that continuing on will eventually bring us into the light - but we miss that piece of knowledge.  Miss it because we’re frightened by the change that has occurred!

We’re shocked by what has happened and we can’t think clearly.

What do we normally do when the day turns to night? We rest or sleep.  Our body quiets and our mind rests.

If we can just remember that we are on the “other side of the story”.  That we know Sunday came with glorious bright light.  And if we’ll allow the strengths & abilities we’ve gained in other dark seasons to emerge as we rest and remain quiet - we’ll move from the darkness into the light with quiet assurance.

Be at peace today as we wait to recall, remember and rejoice that Sunday comes!

Linda