The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3 NIV
Our family may be sad but we celebrate together, no matter what. We are a big family because we constantly add to our numbers. When you marry or befriend one of us, your entire family becomes ours – no matter what. On Resurrection Sunday, as four generations of multiple family threads – some related by blood and all related by love – met together to celebrate Resurrection Sunday and search for colorful eggs in my parent’s pink azalea blooming yard, the weight of sadness hung in the sparkling Florida sunshine and tried to steal our joy.
Missing family members left gaping holes in our celebration. All four of my nephews were grieving. My two oldest nephews rode their bikes over from the home where their 51-year-old father had died in their arms just two weeks before. My two youngest nephews missed their grandma and my sister-in-law missed her mother, who was celebrating her first Easter in the presence of Jesus. We struggled with what to say to two women at the event alone due to marital strife and grieved the absence of their husbands. We felt guilty for even having the event because Grandma Touchton lay in a hospital bed in the final stage of her life, her mind already gone from the ravages of Alzheimer’s.
Serious illness tried without success to put a damper on Celebration Sunday. Among those searching for eggs and blowing bubbles were people suffering from chronic pain, aging related confusion and difficulties, and complications from and treatment for a kidney transplant trying to go into rejection.
As I write this, my husband sits at his mother’s bedside, watching each breath and wondering if it will be her last. I stayed with her until 3:00 AM the night before but since I had ministry and mission commitments in Orlando, Bob insisted that I continue my journey until he calls me to Jacksonville to be with my multifaceted and interesting family as we celebrate the life of my mother-in-law. We will celebrate – no matter what.
When our family gets together, no matter what, we celebrate the reason we come together. When we’re together, there’s always a chance that an argument or two will break out but – no matter what – it is forgotten in moments. This Resurrection Sunday, we comforted each other but we laughed at the blowing bubbles and the children searching for eggs - and we celebrated. That news of Resurrection Sunday is so good that even sadness couldn’t stop us from enjoying the day. Jesus is alive and because He is alive, we are too-no matter what!
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Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information or to schedule a speaker for an event, go to www.pocketfullofchange.org or call Gail Golden at 904 316-5462.
This ministry exists because people like you are called to help fund the work of the kingdom. To help keep the Pocket Full of Quarters Lady on the road leading people to Christ, you can donate at
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