Bright Shadows

Tonight at dinner, my five-year-old says (out of the blue, as usual!), "The shadows are really bright tonight!" I'd never thought of shadows being bright, just dark, but it struck me as a wonderful understanding of my work in glass. When I choose a color and type of glass to be a "shadow" in a glass design, the light comes through it just as brightly as the next piece. It just shows up differently on the other side.

Isn't that Good Friday? It's a bright shadow! On Good Friday, we are in remembrance of a dark time, so dark that God even took away the SUN for part of it. But hidden behind the darkness, an AMAZING light is shining through because "Sunday's coming!"

In the space between Good Friday and Easter Morning, Jesus' friends, family, and disciples mourned. They grieved the loss of their friend, and of their dream: Jesus ruling as King here on Earth. They didn't know that the shadow they were in, was in the impossibly bright light of Resurrection Coming.

But we do! We remember Good Friday and the sacrifice Jesus made for us. But we remember it knowing full well that Resurrection follows agony. I find myself tingling with the anticipation of celebrating the Resurrection tomorrow morning.  I pray that you find yourself rejoicing in the promise of forgiveness and grace, of brightness and glory, because "Sunday's coming!"  And I pray that my young child can perceive some of the true reason for Easter behind the Easter Egg Hunt, the Easter Basket, and the excitement of pancakes at church.

Happy Easter!!