Good Friday Blessings

Dear Reader,

It’s Good Friday, a time when Christians contemplate the crucifixion of Jesus and the sacrifice he made for humanity.

Growing up Baptist, I spent many a Holy Week leading up to Easter Sunday in church with my family.

While my spirituality and how I practice it look very different now than back then, I hold dear memories of those days.

This morning, memories flooded back from an Easter Sunday following my father’s motorcycle accident.

My mom, dad, little sister, baby brother, and I still lived with my father’s parents.

My Granny Stephens, giving her all to care for us while Mom was caring for Dad, took us shopping for new Easter dresses.

At 8 and 10 years old, my sister and I were growing like weeds.

I vividly recall that dress – fine white cotton, crisp and pristine, adorned with a two-tone belt of deep purple and dark raspberry.

The dress’s yoke had delicate, silky stitching in matching hearts, a subtle yet beautiful detail.

Finally, Easter Sunday arrived, and I proudly wore that dress paired with my white patent-leather shoes.

We gathered in the front yard of our little red house as Papa (my grandfather) recorded the moment with his camcorder.

Standing there, I felt cherished and very much loved.

And I was. We all were … underneath the seeming ‘messed-up-ness’ that was otherwise present on any given day.

For a moment, the rage we lived with – innocently passed down from father to son over generations – simply became LOVE.

We greeted it, unquestioned, because it was real and true.

It remains steadfastly present beneath every other emotion and behavior – always.

At our essence, we are LOVE itself ... often or occasionally veiled as something different.

This I know to be true for all human beings: We are LOVE (in disguise).

It is the thing that connects us all, on Good Friday and every other day of the year, no matter our faith or religious beliefs.

On this Good Friday, I wish you a blessed day filled with goodness and love.

Still 10 at heart,
Shailia

P.S.
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