April 23, 2025 While it was not my favorite moment, Deanna, my twin sister, loved it. She loved it so much that she told both our mom and older sister that they should ask me about my morning. “I figured I’d spread the joy,” Deanna said later. What made my morning so entertaining for Deanna (and my family and a few friends)? I was rudely awakened at around 4 a.m. on Good Friday by the younger of my two cats. He was chasing a mouse. If I were to rank my least favorite things, mice and mornings would both be in the top five. The house was built in the 1800s and has wood lots on two sides. Mice get in sometimes. It’s part of the reason I have cats. Normally, I’d be happy if the cats were getting a mouse. But this mouse was different. This mouse was in my bed. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten out of bed that fast. As I jumped out of bed and shouted, my momentary freakout distracted my cat, and the mouse got away. The incident left my heart racing and my adrenaline surging, and it left me sitting downstairs on the couch. I viewed it as an entirely unpleasant experience. I certainly didn’t find it funny. But Deanna sure did. And when she called a few minutes after I told Deanna, my mother also laughed pretty hard. The more people I told about the mouse in my bed, the less unpleasant the memory became. I started to find it funny, too, even though I’m still freaked out about their being a mouse in my house (yes, I know I’m six feet tall and the mouse can’t hurt me; fear is not logical). Sharing the story and bringing laughter to others became a source of joy. It’s amazing how quickly God can turn a minor traumatic event into something joyful and happy, and I think the joy and happiness feel even better after experiencing extreme fear or some other hard emotion. How fitting that I was sitting with that idea this week. Now, we enter the joy and celebration of our Lord’s resurrection after spending time with the suffering and redemption of the cross and 40 days in the desert of Lent. For me, and I think for a lot of us, it’s a different joy and celebration than any other partly because it follows such a long, solemn period. And it’s a different type of joy because it celebrates the biggest gift of them all – life eternal with our God. It’s a joy worth spreading. Happy Easter. Christ is risen! |
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