Rise & Shine

This would be my last Easter service at the church I had come to call home, St. George's Episcopal. I was a senior at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and had been attending services there for the past four years. Now my graduation was coming up and I would be heading out into a world that seemed uncertain and frightening. What would the future hold for me? How would I face it without the anchor of my old church?

Easter would be my final chance to sit in the familiar sanctuary and kneel on the cushions that had carried the weight of generations of worshipers. A last time to take in the incense—as sweet as the hugs from the women who had become like second mothers to me—and sing the hymns.

The service started at ten o'clock. I would arrive at church early so I could sit quietly and take in the cascade of lilies on the altar, then thrill to the glorious alleluias as the choir made its grand procession down the aisle.

I shared my plans with Mama back in Ohio. She sent me an Easter basket—and a fashionable hot-pink suit that she'd made herself. Perfect for Easter morning. I was so excited I woke up in my dorm room at five o'clock, long before my alarm sounded. It was impossible to go back to sleep. I showered and ate some breakfast. Then I began to feel a little sleepy. You have plenty of time. I lay back down and closed my eyes for just a moment.

I awoke with a start. Nine forty-five! Oh, no! How could I have let this happen? I jumped into my new hot-pink suit, raked a comb through my hair and dashed out of the dorm. It was a 10-minute walk to church. If I ran, I might still make the processional. I sprinted across a parking lot and down the sidewalk, sweaty, anxious and furious at my own stupidity. Easter was ruined.

Out of nowhere a voice spoke in my head. Rejoice. I stopped in my tracks in front of a flowering crabapple tree. Rejoice. Nothing can ruin the meaning of this day. Christ is risen. Rejoice.

I gazed up into the tree, its leaves still glistening with dew and its branches dripping with pink blossoms. For the first time that morning I heard the sound of singing birds, felt the warm sun on my face.

I looked around. Not a soul was nearby. No one had spoken other than in the depths of my own heart, and the message was coming through to me firm and clear. Who was I to believe I could ruin this day?

I slipped into a pew in the rear of St. George's and let the voices of the choir sweep over me. Even from the back of the church the lilies on the altar glowed with a special radiance. Who knew what my future held after graduation? I wouldn't worry. I would rejoice. God's love would follow me wherever I went. On this perfect Easter morning, and always.