Vigil

The wait is over.

Mostly.

Tonight, at Vigil of Easter worship, we got to revisit the darkness of Good Friday. We got to bless the Paschal candle and share its light with others. We got to witness two baptisms and affirm our own. We got celebrate that Jesus is alive and risen from the dead!

But the moment most awaited by a certain eight year old, whose name starts with the first to letters and ends with the last two letters of the word she loves more than any other, finally came. She may, once again, have been the loudest to exclaim, He has risen, indeed, ALLELUIA!

That first ALLELUIA is such a joy, after a forty day (plus Sundays!) fast from exclaiming it. 

Today, I am grateful for Light; for Joy; for Alleluias; for babies and baptisms; and for celebrating Easter Vigil with my entire family at worship!