In a Moment

When my son Matt was in undergraduate school at Manhattan Christian College, he served for a couple of years as a youth minister at a small, very traditional church on the outskirts of town. He was the first minister the church had who was dedicated to establishing and growing a ministry for junior and senior high students. While that was his main responsibility, from time to time Matt was called upon to preach on Sunday morning, and Brad, Meghann and I would make the two-hour drive to hear him speak. I don't remember many of his sermons, but I do remember one ... I remember one that I will never forget, one that has been on my mind for a couple of weeks.

The title of Matt's sermon was "Make a Difference," and quite honestly, I expected it to be sort of a renegade "let's change things in this church" type of sermon. But as Matt began to speak, I realized that the direction his sermon was taking was very different than what I had thought it would be. He began by listing three events where just a moment, a blink of an eye, had changed the lives of the people involved forever. He talked about the tsunami that struck Thailand in 2004, and he spoke about the assassination of President Kennedy. But when he began to talk about a phone call from his brother Brad on the night of June 15, 2005, tears poured down my cheeks as I recalled that night ... the evening my mom passed away sitting in her favorite chair. As tears filled his own eyes, Matt looked at me from the pulpit and said, "Mom, you have to stop or I'll never get through this sermon." I nodded my head and fought with every ounce of strength I had to hold back the emotion that continued to flood my heart. Matt pulled himself together and finished his sermon ... and just as I will never forget the night Mom died, I will never forget the tribute my eldest son paid to her that morning in his sermon.

The premise of Matt's sermon that day is what has kept coming back to me recently, however ... the premise that a moment can change everything. As I sat alone at the back of the church this morning with tears streaming down my face, I acknowledged in my soul that this Easter morning was drastically different than those in years past for me. So many things are different now ... so very different than they have ever been before. What a difference a year ... a month ... a day ... a moment can make. What a difference indeed.

As my mind wandered back over events and circumstances of the last year, I began to think about the moment when my time here on earth will be complete and I will step into eternity. I began to think of the first Easter morning and how the sacrifice of Jesus was brought to fruition on that day. The moment when Jesus burst forth from the tomb and broke the chains of sin and death forever ... what a difference that moment has made for all mankind.

Thank You, Lord ... thank You.