That day. Saturday. The only one like it in the whole year.
And it happens every year.
It’s sandwiched in between 2 of the most important days of
the year, but you never really hear about it. I thought about this unique day
and voiced my thoughts to a friend, way back in 1989, but haven’t thought about
it, in depth, much since that day: until 5 weeks ago.
Which day… you might be wondering? Easter Saturday. At least
that’s what I call it, and will “celebrate” it for the rest of my life, because
of what happened this year.
Although I have been pensive about this special day in the
past, this year I took action. Besides the obvious emotions due to the horrific
events of Good Friday, I wondered what the people who were the closest to
Jesus, felt deep in their hearts-- while
it was happening, and the day afterwards. What were the first thoughts and
emotions, in the depths of their souls on Saturday morning? What did they do
that day? Could they eat? How did they act? Jesus was dead. Everything He stood
for, and did, was over. God was no longer on the earth. He left them. Died. Gone.
They didn’t have the luxury we have. They couldn’t just go
to their Bibles and read the story. They didn’t know about the incredibly awesome
ending. They didn’t know about the rejoicing that was to come the next day. We
do. We know about Easter Sunday. And if you’re anything like me, you’ve been
celebrating it for many years and know the joy, the jubilation, and the peace
resulting from that day.
So, because technically speaking, to go back to Easter
Saturday of that exact time: the day after the actual crucifixion, God was not
on earth at all. Jesus was dead, and the Holy Spirit hadn’t been sent yet. Yes
I know you can argue this if you want, because as we know, God is always
present, but I wanted to try to experience what they felt at that time. The
sadness and sorrow: the helplessness and emptiness: confusion and fear, and all
the other emotions that people feel after they have lost their best friend. Not
to mention--the manner in which He was killed.
I decided that I could not talk to God at all for the whole
day. No praying. No sharing. No thanking. No asking.
It was one of the worst days in my life. It was one of the
best days of my life. I won’t even be able to start to describe what happened
to me, but the realization I had, was the most powerful affirmation of my
relationship with God that I have ever experienced. There were countless times
that I started saying or thinking, “You know Lord……” or “Thank you Lord for…”
or “Lord, please be with…” Then I immediately made myself stop, because I
couldn’t talk to Him. He was gone. All day long it was happening. Start… stop.
Start… stop. Start…stop. I even wanted
to tell Him how much I wanted to talk to Him about this whole thing I was
doing, and I couldn’t even do THAT! I have never felt so lost. So alone. So
empty.
I could expand on this indescribable day, but I think you
get the point. There were many tears surrounding the emotions I’ve mentioned,
but also happy tears because of the knowledge-- after the realization-- that I
can’t go very long in a day without talking to and depending on my Best Friend.
My Lord. My God. I had never felt closer to the disciples or Mary Magdalene
than during this day. I was with them, back then, sharing their emotions, and
it was a day that I will never forget.
Why put it on this blog? Well, because it was God who
inspired me to make the movie in the first place (I never wanted to make a
movie); God who provided everything for the movie, and God who put the original
remake 4 water ideas in my head, I thought it was appropriate. I don’t think
that many people read my blogs, and that’s ok, but if just one person thinks
about God and the Easter story in a different or more personal way, it’s worth telling
about this one phenomenal day.
What about the waitress? I was going to put this blog out
last night, but since I wanted the “posted day” to actually be Saturday, I
waited. Then, this morning, my devotions included this:
I thought oh my gosh how amazing is this?? The movie is a
restaurant movie which I made to try to get people to see us as real human
beings with feelings and lives-- not just as robots who care only about the
tip. So I just had to put this in here too! It’s about respect for each other (on both sides of the table) and sometimes
understanding when things are going wrong. Restaurant work is a hard job but
most of us love it, and enjoy going to work. Not everyone can say that!
So be kind to each other and have a fun day! Peace, Patti
