Poison Ivy

After a joyous Easter Sunday last week, Caitlin, Basil, and I scurried out of town for a vacation trip to Oklahoma to visit Caitlin's brother. Though he has been begging us to visit for the last five years and can't stop singing praises for his city of Tulsa, we've been skeptical that Oklahoma was really worth visiting for a vacation. I can now attest that Tulsa, Oklahoma is pretty cool, but I will also confess what had me excited for our trip was the 36 hour detour we took through Waco, Texas to see some old friends from our time in seminary. We ate good brisket and incredible tacos and shared joys and concerns with friends we hadn't seen in a long time. We got to show Basil the new black bear cubs that serve as Baylor's mascots (maybe Mercer should look into that) and go hiking through our favorite trails in Cameron Park along the Brazos River. Basil especially enjoyed this last part, sitting on my shoulders as we climbed over rocks, looked at trees, and watched fish in the river. At one point he became a hungry giraffe and reached as high as he could from my back to rip leaves off the trees that we passed. It was a sweet time with our family and friends—or at least it was until this hungry giraffe rubbed his fist full of leaves all over my face. I didn't know it then but the damage had already been done. By the next evening I couldn't stop scratching my face and I knew that at least some of the leaves Basil had grabbed came in groups of three.

One of my favorite gospel stories of the Easter season is that of the two disciples who encounter Jesus on the road to Emmaus. These two disciples don't recognize Jesus right away and should probably be forgive for that oversight since the last time they had seen Jesus he was dead. They were discussing together the events that had caused a stir in Jerusalem—the crucifixion of Jesus and the disappearance of his body. I imagine they were surprised and perplexed by both, until they stumble upon another traveler (Jesus) who sees their hurt and confusion and grief. Jesus walked with them along the road to Emmaus and explained the scriptures concerning the messiah, but it was not until that evening as they gathered around a table together and broke bread that their eyes were opened and they realized that Jesus was among them this whole time.

The journey of faith, for all the marketing about it being straight and narrow, is rarely so predictable as all that. There will be some truly good and miraculous moments when Christ seems to materialize right in front of you and others that will be down right unpleasant. There might even be a few that will get under your skin and cause you to itch for days, unable to resume living how you did before. Our lives to do not come with road maps or google navigation. We stumble along, carrying our joys and pains and confusions, doing the best we can with each step we take. In this season of Easter I pray you pause long enough to recognize the presence of Christ in your midst, to name the goodness of God traveling alongside you. If perhaps you are having trouble seeing God's goodness, it seems that a meal with those who love you could be a good place to start. May the joy of Easter sustain you along this journey, and may you avoid hungry giraffes carrying leaves.