Easter was the first holiday Robby and I ever spent together.
Here’s a recap of our Resurrection Day together over the years:
1st Easter Together- We had just met in person for the first time and were hiking in the Himalayas. (Read more here). We weren’t even officially dating yet.
2nd Easter Together – We had been engaged for about three months
3rd Easter Together- Married and living in the States
4th Easter Together- In South Asia with friends
5th Easter Together- In South Asia by ourselves during covid
6th Easter Together- In South Asia with friends and 25 weeks pregnant
7th Easter Together- This year…In South Asia as a family of three
I rolled out of bed and mixed up the Pop Tart dough. Homemade Pop Tarts are one of the sweet Sabbath treats that emerged from our Covid lockdown of 2020 when we could barely leave the house for over two months. We don’t have fresh strawberry filling but strawberry jam is a pretty good runner up.
We had been back in South Asia for a month and it felt good to be celebrating another holiday here. As we followed the winding road to fellowship, we noticed this was the first truly clear day since being back in the country. No smog, no smoke, no clouds– just a beautiful Himalayan view.
We trudged up the tiny paved path to fellowship; a walk lined with brick walls and iron gates, spring flowers, and perfect picture nooks. My husband and I passed Eli back and forth, his sun hat bobbed up and down, and he welcomed the adventure.
We took off our shoes and entered the house where we fellowship each week. The hustle and bustle of everyone getting settled was a good kind of busy. More crowded than usual– kids on laps, scarves on heads, and a fan to minimize the sweat. We sang, heard the Word, and passed the little cloth offering bag around the room. Meanwhile, Eli enjoyed eating puffs- the main snack I have found that allows a 9 month old to not make a total mess during a worship service. Afterwards, we all shared a delicious South Asian meal that was hot and ready, and not too spicy :-). It was just right.
That evening, we gathered around the table with more sweet friends. We had cooked a lot that weekend so decided pizza for Easter dinner would have to do. It meant that no one had to be slaving over cooked-from-scratch meals in the kitchen. It was the perfect peaceful ending to a weekend of remembering when the Prince of Peace paid our ransom for sin and rose again.
