Reason for Hope

 I heard the telltale sound from my cell phone indicating a message. Okay, Yoann and Annaëlle, were on the way to my apartment. I quickly headed downstairs to meet up with my neighbors and their two children to make the 30 minute journey to our house church.

The day had finally arrived! Time to celebrate with our church family and invited guests the REASON that I am here in Toulouse, France. Yes, we celebrate the resurrection every time that we meet but today, we were celebrating in a special way.

As I entered John and Judy’s home, I was excited to see that my guest, Martine, had already arrived. A quick “hello”, a stop by the kitchen to drop off food for the fellowship afterwards, and I headed to where all the kids were gathered. A couple of last minute reminders and instructions were followed by a quick group photo.

Back out in the living room, I positioned myself on the front row. Script in hand . . . just in case, I needed to do any prompting. It was great to be sitting next to my friend, Martine, and sharing a book on this Resurrection Sunday. We sang songs and read passages. Each one related to the REASON that we meet each Sunday.

Then, after weeks of practice, it was time for the special program to begin. Guess what?? No prompting needed . . . they did an incredible job bringing the script that I had written to life. I especially enjoyed that three year old, Talya, not only got up when “Jesus” told her to but she followed that with an enthusiastic little hop. Maybe Jairus’ daughter did the same??

The program came to a close. The room was rearranged. A few hours were spent talking and enjoying food together. My friend, Martine, thoroughly enjoyed herself. Growing up Catholic, she had never experienced an Easter celebration like the one that we celebrated on Sunday. I was especially touched when she noted that the atmosphere was the same as it was at events that my former co-workers had hosted. I love how God uses His people to touch lives. It isn’t because of anything that we do or even our personalities, it is because we have a living God who works in and through us.