Deeply Joying

Now we are deep into Easter Week. Has it been hard for you to sustain the joy of the season, which lasts 50 days? For many of us, particularly those who minister in the church, but also parents who host big family gatherings or have been immersed in children's activities, we may have just slept for a couple of days. There are many events, much planning, some rehearsing, shopping, cooking, cleaning, whatever that contribute to Easter Monday exhaustion. More than one person I know simply slept most of the day.

And then we wake up and we remember that it is still Easter. Not only that, but we are asked to keep this season in joy just as we kept the season of Lent in repentance and reflection.

It's easier to repent and do that heart-searching thing than it is to try to be joyful for fifty days. There's only so much celebrating that one can do.  But we are, nonetheless, called to joy and celebration during the Great Fifty Days of Easter.

If you need some help with this, some of us have come together under the flag of Forward Movement (of Lent Madness, not to mention Forward Day by Day, fame) to keep an Easter blog called 50 Days of Fabulous. Visit us daily at 50days.org to read, reflect, and encounter suggestions for keeping the joy in Easter through actual "things to do."

And if you can't take on another daily obligation, do try to practice mindfulness during the season. Pay attention. Be mindful of your blessings, of the beauty of the earth, of the joy that is there for the picking every day as we live together with family, colleagues, friends.

For if Christ is Risen, then life should be different. Amen, Alleluia!