Easter isn’t about chocolate bunnies, colored eggs, glazed spiral ham, or fluffy potatoes with yummy glazed carrots & hericot verts. 😉
Its NOT about going to church with your white gloves and your wicker change purse. As much as I LOVE all of those things, they are ONLY traditions of man. Traditions are meant to REMIND you of what's REAL.
Thirteen years ago, life got very REAL. We lost our house and ALL of our belongings in a fire.
Every. Single. Thing - except the clothes on our back and our dog Boo, was gone.
Before I even knew the outfit I chose to wear that day would be my only material possession, I received a call from our church asking what we needed.
Jesus! Just Jesus, I thought to myself.
Our friends, family, neighbors and church family were all standing around the foundation we had built just six years earlier, praying and thanking God that we were OK!
With the smell of smoke and ashes following us, we walked next door to our dear friends the Allan‘s, and hunkered down in their guest suite for the night. I read the 91st Psalm to my family:
“I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.”
He reminded us not to be afraid and that He would keep us, be with us, and deliver us.
In the morning a friend came to the door with our first gift. It was a portrait of Jesus holding me when I was a little girl!
She had asked me several weeks earlier to give her a baby picture because she wanted her daughter to draw a vision she had of me. Her daughter had finished it just in time. It gave me great comfort to think this was in the works BEFORE the fire ever started. It reminded me of God’s love and His protection just like we read. His promises in Isaiah 61 were FLOODING my memory:
Beauty for ashes. Strength for fear. Gladness for mourning. Peace for despair.
He’s got me!
My husband walked back to the remains, determined and relentless, which by the way is what attracted me to him. He put a ladder up to the charred house and said:
“I know there has to be something in there, something left for us.”
The media came for a STORY but what they reported was nothing short of a MIRACLE! He found pictures! Baby pictures, first date pictures, pictures of friends and family, all unharmed. Wood burnt, metal melted, everything tested by fire gone, except pictures. Pictures that were covered by a piece of insulation were spared. Remind you of an old story? (see: Exodus 22)
It was AFTER that fire that we soon learned our very property is where EASTER sunrise services were held long BEFORE there was ever a golf course or neighborhood! People would gather and bring their chairs and sing together. It SPARKED a new TRADITION of our own.
A virus can’t stop Easter it can only spread it!
With Social Distancing and TECHNOLOGY, “what the enemy meant for evil, God intended for good, the saving of many lives! (Genesis 50:20)
Twenty years ago, with coffee cup in hand, I walked barefoot to the east end of the golf course. As the sun began to CROWN, I said to the Lord, “this is such a beautiful place to live, I don’t deserve it.” And it was as if He said( in my spirit) “I Know...use it to tell people about Me”. Like the virus, the fire only SPREAD the Good News of Gods love even farther!
This year we are celebrating the same way we always do, by remembering His Resurrection and Restoration and looking up for our Redemption!
“When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." ~Luke 21:28
Treasure every day and celebrate your blessings, friends - Easter Sunday and every day!
Thank you, Kelly, for sharing your powerful story with us!
Kelly Soracco grew up in West Auburn Maine. She and her husband Paul have been married for 30 years. They have two daughters, two son-in-law‘s, three granddaughters and the newest one due to arrive in May. Kelly has been involved in women’s ministry for 19 years. She is a writer a speaker and an eyewitness of His Majesty. It is her hearts desire to see women forgiven and set free, encouraged to find their true identity and Restoration in Jesus Christ. She has been a hairdresser for 35 years and is the owner of Hair By Gregory’s in Auburn Maine. She is finds joy in encouraging others, net-working, and most of all - being a daughter of The Most High King. She is HIS Girl~ Fun fact: loves coffee, old chairs, and the ukulele ~