Slow Down this Holy Week

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 I woke up at 2 a.m. to thunder, lightning and a heavy downpour. April decided to come in to the proverbial "April showers bring May flowers." As I lay awake listening to the rain, I found it hard to get back to sleep. Often my mind gets buzzing with things I need to do, concerns I have or just random thoughts. What I've found has worked is to spend some time praying.

Yesterday, I was busy preparing for the upcoming Holy Week celebrations at church. It begins tomorrow with a Palm Sunday breakfast at church, followed by our service. On Friday, we will have prayer stations set up throughout the church for Good Friday and then our Easter Sunday service. This is my favorite time of the year in the church and I think it even trumps Christmas for me.

It's a time of reflection and thanksgiving and worship. A time to remember Christ's sacrifice and a time for renewed joy in His resurrection. I want to savor every moment. I don't want to rush through it and I don't want to get so busy that it passes right by. 

Being in full-time church ministry often means that we are working hard to make sure it is a meaningful event for everyone else. And that also means that it can become about the "work" and less about the verse in Psalm 46 that says, "Be still (cease your striving) and know that I am God." So I'm taking time to spend time praying and reflecting. I'm spending time in the Word. I'm meditating on different passages of scripture. 

And as we are putting together the events for this week I'm savoring each moment. As I made my annual palm branch crosses I spent some time thinking about what this symbol actually means. I'm reflecting on how I am carrying about the presence of Christ to this world. I'm spending time asking for forgiveness for the ways I fail and accepting God's grace and mercy. 

I would encourage you to slow down this week even in the busyness to pray, to meditate on God's word, to give thanks and to be a light.

John 12:12-13 ~

The next day the large crowd that had come for the feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.So they took branches from palm trees and went out to meet him. They shouted,

“Hosanna! ”
“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” 
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”


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