1/ An Easter thread if you’re angry or sad you can’t be in church on Resurrection Day

My most memorable Easter was nowhere near a church building. I was in communist China. This was way before the economic boom there. I was in a city you never heard of working undercover at

2/ one of China’s many orphanages for throwaway children. They didn’t know I was a journalist of course, but when I returned home I wrote an article on it that exposed the horrible abuses going on there—as well as the miracles God was doing in the midst of it all. And there

3/ were plenty of those. I was part of a small team from many countries, and each evening we’d gather in one of the (bugged) hotel rooms to pray, read scripture, share the highs and the lows of the day, and build up any team member who was ravaged by giving out so much during the

4/ day. (Hint: Many orphanages had dying rooms.) On Easter Sunday we took a little break and went to one of the government stores. The only thing for sale were government-approved items, of course. Even to buy one, you had to go thru government-approved red tape. Like they were

5/ condescending to sell you anything. (Remember this was years ago, before the economic boom.) And there in this store in the midst of random, poorly made things no one really wanted was one lone Easter egg. What in the world was this metal egg, painted to look like a

6/ Fabergé egg, doing in communist China when there was absolutely nothing else of Easter—secular or religious? It was just waiting there for me. God’s kiss on His day. I still have it, of course. After, we went out to eat (Chinese food for Easter dinner) and returned to the

7/ hotel for our evening gathering. There were a handful of underground house churches we could have gone to—we would have loved to—but our presence would draw too much attention. Not for us but for them. The communist government of course tried diligently to wipe them out,

8/ and foreigners showing up on their doorstep would be fuel on the fire. So on Easter we did without formal church. Without traditions. Without Easter lilies. Without a building or guitars or worship leaders or overheads or anything. We just sang, prayed, talked about the

9/ resurrection, and ministered to each other. And it was so powerful that I’ve never forgotten it. So for my friends who are sad they can’t be in formal church this Easter, God may have something else in mind for you. It’s His day, after all. So spend time with Him in a way you

10/ never have before and let Him do something He never has before. If He rose up from the grave after 3 days, He can do that for you. Have a blessed and one-of-a-kind Resurrection Day with the one who died and rose again just for you. You’re His favorite.