–The blizzard came.  As is often the case in March, Denver and the mountains are covered with more than a foot of white fluff this morning. It is a beautiful snow but it lands smack in the middle of Holy Week, closing the church today. The airport and highways are closed, too. Messes us all up. Our beautiful Easter Sanctuary Walk is ready but shadowy and thirsty for visitors. The choir, band, and brass ensemble need to practice. Picnic tables and new umbrellas need to be set out. Awhhh. The parking lot was to be repainted today. Oh, and are the children’s dancers going to be ready by Sunday? How will this snow effect Easter morning?

No matter our preference or pretense, we are not in control. Weather is just one of the great reminders that we hold little sway over life. We are not in control, really, of very much. Snow storms during Holy Week. Rain swept grass for the wedding or ball game.  Our ultimate health? Our time of death? How about the birth of babies, the movement of time, or our lineage and history? Our wayward child or our distant spouse. It takes a while but we eventually learn that we can’t control what others do or don’t do.  Even most of life’s opportunities are not of our making.

Blizzards come. Gravity drapes on snow-gripped branches, and they may or may not break. So much is outside our sphere of control.

Which is why we need Easter.  Easter is God’s tweet, a day condensed from the Message of all eternity. Easter is the day where God declares that he is with us, and that he knows that our lives are at best unruly and at worst insurmountable.  On Easter, the multi-ton stone is rolled away. The grave-vault is emptied. The angel of light declares, “He is not here. He is risen.”On Easter, we are reminded that Jesus has it all–death, time, history, family, weather–under control.

Note-to-self: Relax. Have another cup of coffee. Snow or no snow, Easter is coming.

Circle me, Lord
Keep hope within.
Keep doubt without.
Circle me, Lord.
Keep light near
And darkness afar.
Circle me, Lord.

– a Celtic Christian Prayer (for more on Celtic Christianity)

Need a bit of encouragement? Watch “The End is a New Beginning”— a three-minute Easter reflection from Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church.