We worshipped with grand music this morning and a powerful message. We participated in the Lord’s table. We even sang the Hallelujah Chorus as we always do on Easter morning. Then we came home to a quiet dinner with just the two of us. Our family is all traveling far and wide.
So it was a good day. But I grieve for our country and I am ashamed of our leadership and the ugly words that are our president’s way of commemorating Easter Sunday. I pray for his change of heart every night.
I have tried for several years to read an entire gospel or sometimes an epistle on Good Friday. One year I forgot and then did it on Easter Monday. Another year I listened to one of Bach’s Passions. Last year was a memorable year for this discipline but I couldn’t remember which gospel I read. I think it was Matthew and I read it on my iPhone while going through the very stressful process of the nuclear stress test for my heart as a part of the preparation for hip surgery. There was nothing wrong with my heart but the process was frightening as my heart was stimulated through a drug. I guess because I was reading on my phone I did not record which gospel I read in our Bible. However, I see that I had not read Luke since 2016 so that seemed a good book to read today—thankfully and mercifully just sitting in my “headquarters” as Jim calls it.
I have read the first ten chapters and am taking a break to shower and maybe do the livestream church service at noon. I am reading on my iPad and using The Message, Eugene Peterson’s translation. It is startling in its language of today. As I often do, I thought can these words really be in Scripture? I refer to the NRSV and sure enough, there they are in more traditional language. So it is a good exercise to be reading a fresh translation and one that does not let me just slide over the words out of habit.
—————It’s now 1:45 and I have read the entire gospel and feel as if I have commemorated Good Friday and am leading up to Easter. The church service at noon was all readings and music and was very solemn and ended up with the story of the tomb. Now we wait for the celebration of Easter. I hope we can worship in the sanctuary with trumpets and triumphal hymns and even the traditional Hallelujah Chorus.
I was especially moved by the anthem “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say:”
1. I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, O weary one, lay down
Thy head upon My breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary, and worn, and sad;
I found in him a resting-place,
And he has made me glad.
It has been a year of feeling “weary and worn” more than once and I have come to Jesus “as I was.” Now the year is over. We don’t know what the next year may bring but I try to trust that God will go with us and we will have “a resting-place” again.
We chose a caprese salad and mozzarella sticks for a first course. Jim and I brought wine from a morning trip to Trader Joe’s. There were three entrees, spaghetti and meatballs, vodka rigatoni, and chicken parmigiana. Each person ordered a dessert of choice from the menu.
I had made up a quiz for how well do you know your parents and grandparents and it went well with a lot of discussion and questioning and laughter.
We felt very grateful for being able to celebrate with family.
Last night there was a terrific wind and suddenly there was no power. We were just getting into bed close to midnight. We found the flashlight and knew that when the power came back on, we would be surprised with bright lights and loud signals. But the power did not come back on. I checked my phone around 1 am which was the only way to know the time and it gave an estimated time of 4:30 am for restored power. Then that got pushed back to 2:00 pm.
Jim had his annual physical at 9 am but the garage door opener was not functioning of course. He was able to open the door manually which we had not done in the six years we lived here. I tried to message him to pick up coffee at Burger King but with the internet down, that message did not go out. However, he thought of that great idea himself and we got our drug of choice even if we enjoyed it a bit later than usual.
With Jim gone and my cell phone out of power, I was more careful than usual not to fall. I would have had no way of getting help until he got home. It was so dark and disconcerting to walk into rooms and try to turn on a light foolishly! We had guests coming at 4 pm and I was hoping to bake some almond bars but that had to wait.
11:44: Suddenly the dining room lights brightened the apartment. Power! Hooray! But we still had trouble with WiFi. I suggested Jim turn the router off and on and that seemed to do the trick. However, Xfinity messaged us later to say they restored WiFi at 4:50 pm.
It was not cold at least and we didn’t need to cook. Jim took a quick shower before leaving home—while there was still some hot water in the tank. I washed up with cold water later.
How dependent we are on power! I read my book for a while carefully finding a place where light was coming in a window. During the night I opened the blinds just to have enough light from the sky to find my way to the bathroom.
Our guests were at the Hampton Inn and were not aware of losing power. Jeff said he was also not aware of losing power. Maybe it was a very localized Barclay Square issue. But we are glad it is over and we are in touch with the world again!
I am able to walk without a cane or walker in the apartment. I haven’t wanted to walk outside yet without some assistance but that time will come. I am doing some exercises daily that Jennifer and Justin, my physical therapists,, taught me. I am trying to walk at least a short ways daily. Sadly, some bills are starting to arrive and there will probably be more asking for what insurance did not cover. But the “year of the hip” is over and I am so grateful to be walking without pain and with more mobility.
The gift opening was going to be saved for later at Jeff and Susan’s house. I was happy with my purchase of a mirrored vanity tray—very much like the one someone gave me at a bridal shower almost 60 years ago. I hope Katie can use it and remember her grandma for many years to come!
I was unsure if I would be able to make it to the shower with the back muscle spasms that have been bothering me this week. But I did it and managed to forget them for most of the time.
One was to coat the lining of my stomach to protect it from all the others. One was an anti-inflammatory drug. Two baby aspirin a day were to prevent blood clots. And then there was the Tylenol—three times a day with three 275 mg pills. Plus OxyContin which I did not take and an optional laxative.
I stopped the megadoses of the Tylenol a few weeks ago. I was not having pain and did not want to take so many of them. But I diligently took the other pills and recorded my doing so on a spread sheet lest I forget or overdose.
And ….finally the day has arrived. I am taking the last of the medications today. Tomorrow I can have a glass of wine again-or maybe even celebrate with an On the Border margarita later this week! In June, when I took the last of the 30 days of pills, my right hip started to hurt. Apparently it had been protected by the Celebrix. I have no more hips to be replaced. I hope the knees and shoulders don’t start aching! I am so glad this day has arrived!
