Just Breathe – An Easter Devotional for Ministry Leaders

It’s a lot, what you do. Volunteers to schedule. Volunteers who cancel. Volunteers to find out of thin air. Curriculum to prep. Items to buy – (honestly, where am I going to find THAT item?!). New ideas thrown your way from a well-meaning pastor who doesn’t fully understand the scope of what you do. It’s a lot, what you do.

And it’s Easter. A time to pause and reflect on the pinnacle of the Christian experience – the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour. It’s a weekend of reflection, reminders, and rejoicing.

But for you, it’s different. For you it means more emails, more phone calls, more lists, more kids, just more. And you want to take the time to journey through this time in the Church calendar like the rest of the community does, but it doesn’t quite feel attainable.

And while the weekend ahead may be that way, in this moment, this one right here and now, I invite you to just breathe.

Breathe in – and remember the last breath he took while he died on that cross so many years ago.

Breathe out – and thank God for the gift of salvation.

Breathe in – and thank him for the gift of resurrection.

Breathe out – and thank him for the work we do.

Breathe in – and see the faces of the kids who may encounter this story for the very first time.

Breathe out – and offer them up to our Father, in heaven.

Breathe in – and ask him for what you need today.

Breathe out – and thank him that he is your strength.

Amen

This weekend will be wonderful. Not because of our efforts of striving, but because of the way he will work in and through us. In and through our volunteers. In and through the kids.

May this weekend not just fill your lungs with breath, but your heart with peace, your soul with joy, and your spirit with the deep, abiding presence of our risen King.