My Slow-Down Fast didn’t wrap up quite how I expected.

I imagined creating quiet moments of contemplation leading up to Easter, and in a way I did enjoy more moments of interaction with the Lord, but not necessarily in long stretches of quiet solitude. I haven’t had a lot of down time, but I have been able to focus when I am silently interacting with the Lord, communing privately in brief snatches throughout the days. It’s everyday conversation. This dialogue is possible, I think, because, as I am more settled than I was back in March—more rested and less agitated—leaving me more open to listening to the voice of God.

But from a scheduling perspective, my slow-down fast was slow but more full than I anticipated it would be when I launched this concept at the beginning of Lent. This weekend we are enjoying out-of-town guests, and Holy Saturday fell on the birthday of one of my daughters.

Instead of a quiet, reflective, contemplative day leading up to Easter, we went bowling and played indoor Putt-Putt.

Instead of an austere day of fasting, I baked cupcakes and dished out ice cream.

At lunch, however, we paused and pulled out our collection of Resurrection Eggs that highlight moments in the last days of our Lord Jesus Christ’s time on earth, and after a review of each item, we opened the egg that contained the stone that sealed shut the tomb.

We took a minute to remember that at that time, everyone—the disciples, the women who traveled with Him, the soldiers who watched Him die, the chief priests and Pharisees—all surely assumed that “it is finished” just meant “the end.” He was dead, after all. It surely looked like it was over and all was lost.

But all was not lost.

All was won.

Easter morning is the day we open an empty Easter egg—empty because our Lord is not dead.He has risen, just as He said. This is cause for celebration.

Joy to the world, He is risen, Alleluia!