Look Up!

He is risen! He is risen indeed! What a wonderful day - happy Easter!

My best memory ever of Easter is the Easter of my sophomore year in college. It had been a rough fall where my body seemed to be falling apart with no explanation, and then I was diagnosed with MS. But right around the time I was diagnosed, things started to change. My legs started to work better again - a cloud seemed to lift. MS is so unpredictable. I began to run again (and in my senior year, completed a marathon). It was slower running, but it was running, and it was awesome. I remember the smells of spring, the feel of the air against my face, cool mornings, a new appreciation for each day, an appreciation for each time my legs lifted and ran. On Easter that year, before church, on a cool and clear morning, I went and ran up a long hill to a golf course, did a few laps, and returned to campus. Kenyon College is in a very rural area, so getting off campus and running was heaven - being out in nature.

As I ran slowly down the hill from the golf course toward Kenyon, a woman drove by me, window rolled down, and exclaimed "Happy Easter!" A big smile came to my face. I'll never forget the feel of that cool morning breeze and being out in nature. The feel of Easter was all around me. Out there, no one around me, I extended my arms up, circled, and looked up.

I gave thanks to God for being with me through the worst, and also, being with me through the best. That morning was one of the best.

Today I continue to look up, and tomorrow I will be looking up again, for a different reason, because life goes on. You see tomorrow, my high school friend Dorothy is headed into space. So many of her friends will wake up very early to watch the launch, looking up via computers, wishing the best for her. Life has gone on through Lent and goes on now. And I look up, tomorrow for Dorothy. May she have a peaceful journey and return safely. And may God be with her.

Thanks be to God. Alleluiah!