Alas. All good things must come to an end.
It was our last evening together. A week earlier, I had left Hubby alone with the kiddos and hopped a plane to Jamaica. As the plane lifted effortlessly off the ground, the weight of my world stayed on the runway. An entire week with nobody calling out, “Mom!” An entire week without needing to cook or vacuum or do dishes. An entire week partaking in exclusively adult conversation with my four college roommates as we celebrated our half-century mark together. Responsibility can be both a privilege and a burden at the same time. Sometimes it’s nice to take a break.
This final night in Jamaica was delightful. The lobster dinner with asparagus and chocolate mousse was delectable. The entertainment was a magic show where they called me up on stage to make a fool of myself. I doubled as a fool in the same evening when I gave my best Olivia Newton John impression during karaoke night. We laughed so hard, feeling almost as if we were back in college.
But alas. All good things must come to an end.
*****
I wonder if that’s what Peter thought.
At the request of Jesus, Peter and John prepared the Passover celebration in a large room. The disciples gathered there with Jesus, partaking in what would be His last supper. Bread was broken, foreshadowing His death. Wine was poured out, as would soon be His blood. And finally Peter promises, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
But Jesus knows Peter better than Peter knows himself. “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
*****
Back in our suite, my roomies changed into their jammies. I didn’t want the night to end. Yes, I missed Hubby and the kiddos, but I knew the weight of my world would be waiting for me as soon as the plane landed the next day. The weight of my world hadn’t gone away, I had just left it for a week.
“I’m going for a walk on the beach! Does anyone want to come with me?”
My roomies stopped their chatter and stared at me.
“It’s after midnight! You want to walk on the beach now?”
“Yes! I just don’t want the trip to end! I want to be on the ocean and listen to the waves and walk barefoot in the sand one last time!” (you may now know who the obnoxious roommate was in college)
Blank faces stared silently at my late-night enthusiasm.
“It’s fine. I can go myself.”
Tammy stood up. “You can’t go by yourself! I’ll go with you. I just need to change back into my clothes.”
*****
After the Passover dinner, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. His disciples accompanied Him, but He then went off alone to pray. Although Jesus had told them what was going to happen, the disciples hadn’t connected the dots. They couldn’t see what Jesus saw, so they slept while He prayed. They didn’t know what He knew, so they slept while he sweat blood.
Peter and the other apostles dumbfoundedly watched the betrayer’s kiss. The Man of Miracles was arrested and sentenced a criminal’s crucifixion. If Jesus was really the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, would He really die on a tree? They watched as the Perfect who had raised the dead now breathed His last between two imperfects.
And alas. All good things must come to an end.
*****
By the time we were strolling the sand, Tammy had caught the magic of the last night. We skipped and giggled like schoolgirls. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, something moved. I looked up. With no light pollution, we could see the number of Abraham’s progeny. The Jamaican sky was darker than the Wisconsin skies I had seen my entire life. Looking straight up, something moved again.
“OH! OH! A shooting star! Did you see it?”
Tammy looked up. “No, I didn’t see anything.”
“OH! Another one! Did you see it?”
Tammy looked up. “No, I didn’t see anything.”
“OH! OH! There’s SO MANY! It must be meteor showers. This is amazing!”
Tammy looked up. “Would you stop it? I don’t see anything.”
*****
Peter’s eyes had first been opened when his nets were filled. In contrast to the holiness of Jesus, Peter was immediately grief stricken over his own depravity and able to see his own sin. He acknowledged Jesus as the Christ. Peter was the little rock. Jesus was the Big Rock. Such promises Peter trusted for his future.
But now his fearless leader, faithful companion, and future hope would soon hang lifelessly on a cross. Peter helplessly follows his Lord at a distance. Hours earlier, he was proud to be a follower of the King. Now, he lurks in the shadows, ashamed to acknowledge any association. Peter is now a liar. A denier. A deceiver, just as Jesus had said. And the rooster crows. Once again, Peter is grief stricken over his own depravity.
And alas, all good things must come to an end.
*****
“Let’s stop walking and just lie down on the beach. You’ll see the meteors, we just need to stop and look.”
We lay down on the beach, staring at the dark, unpolluted Jamaican sky.
The Geminid meteor showers continued their magnificent display of God’s fireworks. Averaging 120 meteors per hour, we didn’t need to wait long!
“OH! OH! I SEE!!” Tammy said.
*****
“On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus….Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.” (Luke 24: 1-3, 10-12)
The other apostles thought the empty tomb to be an idle tale, but not Peter. He chose to take a closer look, and he found Jesus had defeated death. An empty tomb. A risen Savior. Jesus was truly who He said He was. The tale was not idle. The tale was true.
*****
We left the warm, stress-free Jamaican isle and landed in an untropical, sub-zero Wisconsin. I spotted my burden of the weight of my world, sitting there on the runway. Jesus already took the weight of the entire world on His shoulders, the sin of all. It was not an idle tale. I stared at my burden and shook my head. Refusing to take up my burden, I turned and walked the other way, tilting my head back and looking up. If the Son has set me free, I will be free indeed.
And alas, all good things do not come to an end for those who believe in the One and only Son of God.