Daily Delight

Good Friday was yesterday. But my mind is fixed on a different Good Friday. April 6, 2007. I was fourteen. My family and I were moving. It was a quick drive from where we were moving from but with the birth of my youngest sister almost two years prior, we needed bigger space. That was also the day my uncle called to say my grandma may not survive the night. She had stage 4 cancer and a recent surgery on a collapsed lung. I woke the next day, my first in the new house, to find out she did pass. My family didn’t celebrate Easter that year. We attempted to somewhat organize the house and pack to fly up to New England.

It has been ten years since she passed and every year the sting still is there. Death is a hard thing to grasp. We see it as so final but it really isn’t. We celebrate Good Friday as Christ’s ultimate sacrifice – His death. But we celebrate Easter as the day He defeated death and rose to life. 

“‘Don't be alarmed,’ he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here.’ “ -Mark 16:6 (NIV)

“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?“ -1 Corinthians 15:12 (NLT)

My grandma may have left this earth ten years ago but I know she’s been given a new body, a new life in Heaven for eternity. This is the hope we have as believers. 

Death may steal us from here but it can never take us from God. He defeated it so we could have life in Him forevermore.

This is why we celebrate Easter, so that through Christ’s death we may have life forever. It still hurts when we lose someone here, family or friend, but knowing she no longer hurts and is in His presence gives me hope. Gives me joy. That’s what God does. He gives hope and joy to the hurting, life to the dead in spirit. Christ made life possible through death. Who thought death was worth celebrating?

My mom has often thought about her mother saying, “Can you imagine the celebration in Heaven on Easter?” 

{photo: @missy_e}

About the Author

Casey Leigh Gordon≫ ≫Casey is a 24 year old whose heart is for the LORD, global missions, and for others to grow in their faith. She runs the abide.collective account on Instagram, where she shares encouragement and truth in raw honesty. 

In addition to Instagram, you can also find her on her new blog, abidecollective.wordpress.com . In her spare time you'll find Casey either with her nose in a book or out hiking with her pup.