Emmanuel and Hosanna

We’re back in Michigan where the blue lake mirrors an open sky. A couple of solitary loons en route to their northern home have joined the usual wild swans. The water in front of the house is calm, but with square waffle-prints from the convergence of breezes sweeping from the shoreline and brisk wind out further from shore. I am grateful for the calm setting.

Tomorrow is Easter. Some things seem really big as I head into the resurrection experience - like my tinnitus - and I keep dwelling on the immersion of my own heart deeper into His. This involves meditating on His passion, and His great love borne in sacrifice that frees me from myself and delivers ever-greater graces.

There have been several small encouragements so far today (it’s now 2:00 p.m.) – little hopeful things (resurrections?) that seem big.

1. We were able to replace the oil seal (a $10 part) on my Champion Juicer rather than confront the purchase of a new unit (a $400 appliance). After about 6 weeks without a functional juicer, I made BOTH green lemonade and carrot juice! I’m hopeful to jump-start some better eating habits as I’ve fallen way short recently (in an attempt to seek solace that only delivers more grief).

2. Fritz cleaned out the interior of the car and found a calculator that had been missing for months. A happy reunion!

3. After probing with a broken hot-dog stick, and mega-digging a huge hole, Fritz discovered a dry well behind the (failed) septic tank that no one knew was there – not even our neighbor who witnessed the original installation when this house was built in 1961. This means we may be able to limp along septic-wise until the new sewer line is finished – potentially as early as November of this year. The septic guy will be out Monday morning to help assess possibilities, and perhaps drill into this dry well (with its huge concrete lid) to drain it.

4. When we returned to this house yesterday, a message was waiting on the answering machine from Miracle Camp (a local Christian summer camp and retreat center) asking if I might be interested in part-time work in the kitchen. Although this is not AT ALL my dream job, and I wouldn’t be able to respond to a position right now (due to the work-in-progress on the Indiana house), it is still encouraging to think I might land some sort of doable work in the future and help out with finances. As long as I don’t have to HEAR…

5. The current quarterly topics at FaithWriters are thought-provoking as usual and continue to keep me on my (writer) toes. Last week the topic was “up and down” and this week is “hot and cold.” In both cases I’m left thinking about the extremes of human experience - living in the flesh vs. living by the spirit - and the shades in-between as we (or at least I) confront lukewarm-ness.

These are all relatively small things in the scope of eternity, and yet they all fit together to say this: God cares about the details of earthly life. Emmanuel – He is with us - and Hosanna - He is saving us.