Shae sat staring at her father’s picture thinking back on that cold blustery day.
That morning, she had rushed to be on time. Before leaving her room, Shae took one last look in the mirror giving herself a smile and thumbs up while mouthing, “You can do this!”
Shae had finally worked up enough courage to ask her parents to support her decision in majoring in music instead of science. Convincing them that being a concert pianist instead of a doctor was going to be difficult.
Her father had always told her that she would pursue the medical field. “Being a doctor will give you security and a good standing in society. Once you become a physician then you can enjoy playing the piano.”
Thinking about that day, Shae remembered being in the car and listening to her parents talking excitedly as they drove closer to the University for her entrance exam. She had wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt several times with many deep breaths to calm herself. “Dad, mom. I have something to tell you.” Both parents stopped talking and waited for Shae to speak.
“You know how well I can play the piano, right?” She waited for them to acknowledge her.
“Well, I have decided to major in music instead of science. I have no desire to become a doctor. My life would not be complete if I was separated from my music.” There, she had said it. There was no going back. Either her parents would accept her proclamation, or they would not support her.
Shae closed her eyes remembering how the silence in the car had become deafening. The image of her father’s cheek twitching, a sure sign that he was mad. Then her dad spoke in an orotund voice, “You will set aside any notion of being a concert pianist. There is no future in it for you and I will not watch you waste your life in pursuing this. You will go to your entrance exam and make a career as a doctor, or you can move out of the house and find a way to live without our assistance!”
Shae pressed her hand over her heart feeling the old pain that always came when thinking about that conversation. Like a movie real her memory continued with the car stopping at the intersection. She vividly remembered feeling suffocated and needing to get out of the car. Before reason could stop her, she pulled on the handle and opened the door.
The feeling of rain mixed with her tears rushed over her as she recalled jumping out of the car and walking across the lanes in the street paying no attention to her father’s plea to stop. Shae had then stopped, jerked her head around and yelled back at the car, “Fine, if you’re not going to support me then you’re dead to me!”
What happened next is something that Shae could never remember but relied solely on her mother’s details. Shae had run in front of a bus and with the down pour, the bus driver had a difficult time stopping. With tears her mother would always say, “But your father pushed you out of the way to save you.”
“Shae!” Hearing her name, Shae shook her head to bring herself back to the present. Today was the anniversary of her father’s death. One life is lost to save another, something that she will always live with and never forget the gift of life that her father so willingly gave up for her.
Lately I have been thinking a lot about if someone were to put themselves within harms way to save me. How would I feel about that? I can tell you that the word relief did not come to my mind. Sadness and pain are what I thought of. The sadness that someone else would offer themselves to save me and the pain of loss that person would experience.
Isn’t this what Easter is about?
Sure, Easter is fun with egg hunts and family get-togethers. But when I take the time to ponder what happened the whole week before Easter with Jesus it becomes a sobering thought.
What started out with a celebration of the Passover and Jesus riding on a donkey quickly turned into a series of horrifying events ranging from betrayal, pain, scourging, wrongly accused, a sentence, and then death.
Why? It’s a simple question that many have asked. But there is one simple answer to this question.
John 3:16-17 “God loves you so much that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
Redemption on display by a man who didn’t need to go through so much pain but because of His love for you and me He chose to sacrifice Himself so that we might be saved.
Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
My feeling of sadness and pain is quickly replaced with how grateful I am that I too am a part of His redemption plan and that I am saved.
Nothing in your life is beyond redemption. – Sting
I hope you have a wonderful Easter holiday. May God bless you with joy and peace. Take time to ponder the real meaning of Easter. The price was huge for one man so that we could be redeemed by grace.
Happy Easter!
Gwen
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