Heart for Community, Eyes for the Broken Hearted

I used to dread the holidays. Sometimes I still do. I grew up in a NY Italian family that celebrated every holiday together. Then I got married and moved away and holidays weren’t something I looked forward to anymore.

At first it was me and hubby. I tried doing the festive thing for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter and kept some of the traditions and even dressed up at times. Then kids came a long and I bought those cute suits for the kids, several years in a row, but realized we’d always be dressed up with no place to go.

Some years we went to see family, but when the kids got older and our family grew it was much easier to stay home. Soon the holidays came and went, and we barely made it out of our pajamas. Often it became just another day and each year I’d grieve inside. I’d grieve not having family around, but most of all I grieved the fact that even though I belonged to a church and a Christian community, no one, I mean no one except for two Easters after we were first married, invited us over for the holidays and many knew we had no family in town.

Many years we invited others over with us (one year we had a dozen college students) and those were the best times, but deep inside I still grieved the lack of community, of true family and fellowship. The last couple of years since my family moved to town we’ve had small intimate holidays with friends joining us as well. This Easter my mom is visiting my sister, and while some years I like a low key holiday, this year I feel like doing more.

My heart has been aching for community for a while, and even though our home Lent gatherings have been stressful leading up to the ministry, it’s awakened a desire in me to reach out more to those who might also dread the holidays.

So this year I’ll be cooking more and asking Jesus to send those to us who desire community as much as I do. My prayer for my family and Christians everywhere is that their eyes will be open to the needs of others this Easter season and be open to setting the table for a few more! After all Jesus came for the broken hearted and it’s not hard to find them if we just turn our head!

What is your heart’s cry this Easter?