Joshua Minden (00:28):

Hi there. Welcome to Stories and Other Things Holy. Today is Easter Monday,, and that means for many of us, we're still trying to take in the mystery of resurrection. Maybe it looks like joy. Maybe it still feels like grief. Maybe it's both. And today it carries an added weight. This morning, news broke that Pope Francis has passed away. His life and ministry, especially his fierce compassion and his deep humility have left a profound mark on the world. And on days like today, when loss and hope are mingled in the air, we return to stories. This week, Terry shares a story that holds both the ache and astonishment of Easter. It's about failure, surprise, and the unexpected ways grace can rise up from the very places we're tempted to abandon. It's tender, it's ordinary, and if you lit it, it might just catch you off guard. So let's take a deep breath and enter together into another story and Other Things Holy.

Terry Nelson-Johnson (01:44):

Stories and Other Things Holy - the Easter season! So, seems to me that Easter's got to have something to do with surprise, like new life coming from an unexpected place. I don't know, I'm aging myself here, but Gomer pile, are you with me on Gomer pile, wasn't it Gomer like: "surprise, surprise, surprise." That's what Easter, that's sort of the manifesto of Easter. Surprise, surprise, surprise. It's a beautiful story that I received as a gift from a podcast, I believe called Unsung Heroes and check it out. Available to all your podcast places. That's what you're supposed to say. Anyway, they found people that had somebody in their life that had done something for them that was unbelievable, and they weren't able to track them down or thank them. So thus, the unsung heroes. This particular story, woman is 20 years old at the time of the story.

(02:48):

She has three kids under the age of two, a kid, and then twins. And the twins are under, they're like Irish twins thing know, but now there's three of them. You're following me. She comes downstairs one morning and the sink is full of dishes. She puts the twins in the high chair, which are sticky, and then the toddler comes down, and I know you've had one of these moments, but you could imagine her moment of like, that's it. I'm tapped out. And the dishes in the sink were sort of the topper. I don't have anything to cook in. She's not a very good cook. She's burned Most of the pans, which are reflected, the burn is reflected in the pans in the sink. And she's like, "Can't do it. Cannot do it." Gets a large black plastic bag, puts all the cans, all the dishes, all the pans, everything in the bag like 'I'm done.'

(03:47):

Takes the bag, drags it out to the dumpster, dumpsters full. She's like, whatever, leaves the bag at the edge of the dumpster and then walks dejectedly back into her house, picks the three kids up and they're off for the day. Movie - anything to get out of there. She spends as much time away from that place, which said everything about her failure that could comes home late that night, bumps into something on the porch. Can't pick it up because she's holding two kids and sort of marshaling her toddler into the house. Gets them inside, just sort of plops 'em in their respective beds. Goes back, turns on the porch light, large box, picks up the box, puts it on the counter, opens the box. All of her dishes, all- of her pans, immaculate, sparkling.

(04:45):

It's a simple note on a ripped-off piece of paper that says, "I've been there. You'll be okay." Isn't that one of the messages of Easter is that the mystery of the divine says to us, I've been there and you'll be okay. We think of Easter as cute, nice brunch, flowers. God bless all those things. Bonnets, you follow me? But there's something much deeper about Easter, and it comes as a surprise. Who would've thought when that woman got up in the morning and faced that sink with pans just baked in her failure? I don't even know how to bake eggs, and I have three kids and there's no one here with me. I have got to get out of here. 'Surprise, surprise, surprise.' The mystery of the divine weaves itself into our story and fosters life in the most - right from the dumpster. And it was a woman that watched her go to that dumpster and just intuited. She's having one of those days. Why would someone looking out their little window of a just poverty stricken apartment complex know. She goes out there, she takes that bag, she drags it inside, she cleans those pans, all those dishes and leaves them as an Easter bonnet. A little Easter basket. Boom, "I've been there. You'll be okay."

(06:35):

Thank God for Easter. Pray that we might be open to the surprise of Easter after brunch. Such a privilege to do good church with good people. Stories and Other Things Holy.

Joshua Minden (07:05):

Thank you for joining with us today in the shadow of Holy Week and the light of Easter. God shows up in the most surprising places. Sometimes in a tomb left empty, sometimes in a box left on a doorstep, sometimes in the quiet, ordinary solidarity of "I've been there, you'll be okay." That simple message carries so much of the gospel in it, and maybe on this particular Monday, it's a message we all need. If you found today's episode meaningful, I invite you to share it with someone who might also need to hear it. You can also join our newsletter at: StoriesandOtherThingsHoly.com/ where each week we share reflections, prayer prompts, and glimpses of grace to help you carry the story into your own week and life. And if you'd like to support the ongoing work of this podcast, we are on Buy Me a Coffee, where you can make a one-time or recurring monthly donation in the form of a membership. Every bit helps to continue to tell these stories and to build this community. Until next week, Happy Easter and God Bless.