Laurel Elisabeth Stevens

A meditation for Thursday of Holy Week. I wrote this as a part of our church's weekly encouragement during the time that we are apart. This is Holy Week. On Sunday we watched Jesus riding on a donkey into Jerusalem, welcomed like a king, a much anticipated hero. As the week continued we saw him healing many, making parables from fig trees, and clearing the temple of those who sought a profit there. Embarrassed followers and skeptics watched as a woman dropped in on a dinner party and poured oil over Jesus's head, "preparing me for my burial," he explained, perhaps bringing up more questions to the bewildered and disgusted guests.  The plot against Jesus had been coalescing day by day, and so we find ourselves at Thursday--often called Loving Thursday when Jesus, "having loved his own who were in the world, now showed them the full extent of his love." (John 13:1) There's one disciple that we can zoom in on, and in fact his antics and qu...

Henry woke up early on St. Nicholas' Day.  John was upstairs so he was the one to talk with Henry and send him back to bed, as it was not yet 6:30 AM wake up time.   “Daddy, I had a bad dream.” “Aww, did you?” “Yes.  Daddy, is St. Nikolaus dead?” John answered that yes, he is dead. “Oh.  Then who will put something in my boot?”  he asked worriedly. “Well, who else loves you?” With a bright smile, “Mommy and Daddy!” Then he went back to bed.  John related the story to me before Henry got up again, and I was relieved that all our uncertainties of the night before were resolved.  I guess I imagined that since he knew we loved him, he knew we had filled his boot. Elisabeth was not such an early riser as Henry, but nor was Henry overly anxious to check his boot.  I had to remind him that it was available.  I managed to have him and Elisabeth get dressed before they went downstairs--it was still a school morning after all....