The Pastor’s Desk…                                                                                                           

    Have you ever had the experience where you find yourself asking: “When did that happen?” It has been
happening to me a bit more often lately. Now that things have calmed down a bit since the Easter season concluded, I’ve actually begun noticing some of the changes that have been taking place around me.
   It is amazing how some things can change so drastically, that we don’t really notice them—until
suddenly we realize they’ve changed. Maybe it is that moment when you step on the scale and you see numbers that you didn’t think you would see and you wonder, “When did that happen?” Or you are walking around your car, and you see a dent that you don’t remember and you wonder, “When did that happen?”
For me, I’ll wake up in the morning, look at myself in the mirror, and wonder, “When did my hair get this long?” or “When did that bump appear in the middle of my forehead?” Or, I’ll be driving past a now vacant lot, and wonder, “When did that building disappear?” or “When did that close?” or even, “Now what was it that used to be there?” Once in a great while, it happens in reverse, as I’ll see something new and wonder, “When did that get there?” or “I don’t remember that before?”
    It also happens as I walk through the cemetery. Our new dog, Zoe, is just learning to walk on a lead, so we’re taking new pathways to avoid traffic. I’ve been walking through the cemetery for five years now, but I’m still finding things I hadn’t seen before. I find myself wondering what else I’ve missed. Last week, for example, we paused as we were walking around the Lower Lake. As I looked across the lake, I saw something on the hillside above the Receiving Tomb that I hadn’t seen before. There, on the side of the hill, were three stone crosses. I
realize that they are often difficult to see. They are lying flat, not upright. And when the trees are in leaf, they are hidden behind the branches. But right now, for those who might notice, they are there to be seen.
    These days after Easter, as our lives turn back to our routines, and we break out summer clothes that we wonder when they became so small, the lessons of Easter remind us to keep our eyes open to the Presence of the Living Christ. The disciples met Jesus behind locked doors, in gardens, walking on a road and on the seashore. We, too, can encounter the living Christ in our homes, in gardens, in our travels and on the job. But are we noticing His Presence around us? Like the crosses on the hillside, the signs of His Presence are there to be seen. And for those who notice, you’ll soon realize that He didn’t just suddenly appear, but has been there all along.