Al...ia

Our journey through Lent and Resurrection Day has been full of memories.

From Tuesday Night Sunday School's Lent Trek...

To coloring eggs...

 To dancing while Mama tries to take a picture of someone in her Easter Vigil dress...

 To Easter Vigil Worship's journey from darkness into light, including hearing my eldest daughter's beautiful voice as she sang with the choir and reading from Genesis with both my daughters...

To Easter Morning's bounty of quarter-containing eggs and canned goods for the food pantry...

as well as a few treats...

To Resurrection Day greetings...

To seeing the hands of our church family transformed into Easter lillies in the sanctuary...

To yummy dessert...

 And another egg hunt, just for fun...

Our Lenten journey and Resurrection Day produced many precious memories. The best memories, however, were not captured by a camera. They were felt in the serenity of the sanctuary. They were heard in the voices of the church. They were absorbed through the sights and scents and sounds of the season.

Perhaps the memory that will stay with me, in detail, forever was heard in the joyous, raucous exclamations of Alleluia by my five year old daughter who nearly exploded in anticipation of once again being able to exclaim that word - the Al...ia word that wasn't her name. We're fairly sure people outside in the parking lot could hear her joyous yawp, "He is risen, indeed! ALLELUIA!!! As soon as that first Alleluia broke loose, a flood of Alleluias followed. As she prayed the Lord's Prayer ... "Our Father, who art in heaven alleluia, hallowed by thy name alleluia ..." Anywhere she could possibly sneak an Alleluia in, she did. And that was just at Easter Vigil worship. Easter morning, she sang every song she could think of that contained Alleluia. She once again waited in anticipation in church, this time, waiting for Pastor G. to officially release the Alleluias from the box he'd gathered them in the Sunday before Lent began. Again, her excitement propelled Alleluias from deep in her soul as she celebrated the joy of the day. Here spirit and her Alleluias still could not be contained. It is this - this utter joy and enthusiasm - that I will remember for many Resurrection Sundays to come.