Very early in the morning on the first day of the week, the women went to the tomb, bringing the fragrant spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away. –Luke 24:1-2
I was honored to know a college student, Jill, who had lived all her life fighting cystic fibrosis. One Thanksgiving, though, her struggle was coming to an end.
She was admitted to the hospital expecting to die. Her lungs had deteriorated. Her only hope, a lung transplant for which she’d been waiting months, hadn’t materialized.
Suddenly, a nurse bursts into the room. “We might have lungs for you!”
How do you deal with a slingshot of emotion? Total despair flipped to mind-numbing hope?
How do you walk in the steps of the women toward Jesus’ grave, and discover the stone’s been rolled away?
There’s always a two-edged anxiety. “Will it work, and be worth the pain?” and “I hope this isn’t a joke because I NEED this to happen!”
She went through the risky transplant, and then through a long, arduous recovery. Now she reports,
“My life is dramatically different. I am willing to try anything, within reason… Life is now a great adventure, one that I am ready to take on.
“My faith in God has become stronger. If I find myself feeling down or complaining to God, I thump myself in the head and begin thanking him for all of his wonderful gifts. I know there is so much in store for me and I can’t wait to see what it is…”
Each Thanksgiving she gives a special thanks for her lungs. She also prays for the family of the person who died at that time, and whose lungs she now has. Their grief enabled her joy.
The women at the tomb could relate to Jill.