[Editor’s  Note: This is a guest story by contributor Maria Drayton. I’m still planning on doing one post a week for now, but when Maria sent me this Easter post (and I realized, Oh man, I really don’t have an Easter post this year…) I decided to post it this week too! P.S. Have you ever wanted to know what Easter was called in Italy? Pasqua! So this Sunday, happy Resurrection, Easter, and Pasqua!]

Easter on Resurrection Sunday

1 Peter 2:24, “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

It’s almost that time again. The time that all the stores fill up with Easter baskets, eggs and candy. The time that the shopping begins for the perfect Easter outfit. The time that the people you haven’t seen all year show up to church. It’s funny what things become about when it comes to Easter. A national holiday that encourages everything EXCEPT what it really is.
I fell for it. I saw a sale and jumped on it. I had everything and was prepared. I had a 20% off coupon, plus a $70 gift card to use. I was ready. I chose my son to focus on this year. He has grown a lot in the year, needed a new dress shirt, pants and shoes. I saw the sale and moved in for the kill. There I stood in the middle of the boys section going back and forth.

First, it was the green shirt with the blue tie and the blue pants. But then I couldn’t find the right size pants in the navy blue. Then I switched to the blue shirt with mixed blue and gray tie with gray pants instead. But the shirt was too small. When the lady came to ask me if I needed help to find anything, I immediately said, “yes!” She went to the back to look for the right sizes of either and could not find any that would fit. I switched again to the tan pants instead.

Then I found the right size pants but the shirt didn’t look quite right. Eventually I left the store settling on the green shirt with the blue tie and the navy blue slacks (just got a bigger size). I figured he could “grow into them.” All of this over Easter Sunday. Not only did I go and make the Easter outfit purchase an event but the pants definitely didn’t fit and I had to go back again for round two.

Then it happened, a church that we often visit, proclaimed “we will not be dressing up this Easter we want everyone that comes to feel comfortable”. I thought to myself, “After all I went through for the perfect outfit for my son?!” Instead I made the decision to go to another church where “tradition” still rules.
It really didn’t hit me until after the postcard came from the church (in which I decided on) to advise that there would only be two services on Easter Sunday. One at 6am and the other at 10am. My family often went to the early service since we lived so far away- traffic generally wasn’t as bad in the early morning hours.

Then I showed it to my husband and said, “We will probably have to wake up at around 4am on Easter- I just wanted you to know.” He answered, “Maybe we don’t have to go to this church but the one we visit instead.” “What?!” I thought to myself. Maybe it was me that needed to change. After all, tradition doesn’t have to “stay” tradition.

As a child, I knew I could always count on this time of year for a new outfit from my mom. We would all walk in church with our crisp new dresses, stockings and shoes. That was the tradition, Easter Sunday meant dressing to the tee. Now here I was, being challenged in my thought of this tradition. Realizing, “Why do we need to get extra fancy?” Even as my son grew, it was filled with Easter baskets and egg hunts in addition to the church attire. I’m not even sure if my son even really knows what it’s really about at this age. I have to admit; I’ve dropped the ball. After all, Easter is about Jesus’ resurrection not about outward appearance. It’s about the offer of salvation from our very own sins through His resurrection.

Romans 3: 21-26 (NIV), “But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

I’ve decided it’s not too late. This Easter Sunday, we will be visiting the other church. This “Easter” we will be dressing casually instead, giving “Easter” its proper focus. What an awesome God he truly is! Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Romans 4: 23-25 (NIV), “The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

Maria Drayton, originally from Seattle, Washington is a graduate of Washington State University and has a degree in Communications with an emphasis in Journalism through the Edward R. Murrow School of Communications. Maria currently resides in Deptford, New Jersey with her husband and son. With a passion for the Lord, she desires to bring a young, fresh, new look into intimacy with the Lord. Purchase Maria’s newly released book, “The King and I: Steps for Living in Today’s World Through Intimacy with the Lord” on her website: www.mariadrayton.com !

Thanks for reading! Blog comments are closed. You can follow Devotional Diva on Facebook here, on Instagram here @devotional_diva, on Twitter here @devotionaldiva and email me, Maggie, at editor(at)devotionaldiva(dot)com anytime. If you’d like to join our email list to receive new posts, please follow this link.

[Editor’s note: This is a guest blog by Maria Drayton. Maria is an amazing devotional writer, and I love how she tied in this message of thankfulness (’tis the season!) to this post on social media comparisons. An important message around this time of year, I think. Social media definitely has its place (as a military wife, it’s the best way I can keep in touch with long-distance family and friends!) but this is an important reminder to enjoy your time with family and friends! Be content. Thanks, Maria!]

Contentment vs Comparison on Social Media

It only took 2 minutes this time.

The time for me to tap the app, watch it open and scroll through the posts of others for me to become annoyed.  Annoyed and some-what jealous of what I saw.  Jealous of what I thought I saw in the pictures posted: selfies taken, events promoted, people partying, trips taken, awards won, houses bought, etc.  Immediately I closed the app.  What did I expect to see?  Why did opening that app make me feel the way I did?  Maybe that’s why I hadn’t been on social media a lot lately.  Social media is a trap.  At least for me it is.  Nowadays, I find myself posting and getting off immediately.  I am even guilty of posting the exact thing I always find on it.

One year, I posted so much and counted the “likes” so often that my acceptance was becoming dependent upon those “likes.”  Why does social media create a need for acceptance?  Inherently, we all have a need to be accepted and social media is a platform where you can create your own reality whether it is true or not.  Social media allows us to hide without regard for accountability but with our need for acceptance closely in tow.

Have I changed?  I’m not sure.  Maybe my interest has changed.  I’m no longer interested to see what people choose to promote in their lives.  In the recent weeks, when I did attempt to go on a social media site there was just nothing of substance.  Sure, looking into others’ lives you feel as if you are in “the loop” and are “socially aware.”  But there’s something that also happens when you tap into others’ lives, events and dreams.  At least for me it did, I began to compare my life with what I saw.  Truth be told, most of what is posted on social media isn’t even real.  It’s the façade.  It’s what people want you to see.  It’s what people want you to read.  It’s what people want you to know.  It’s not the WHOLE truth.  But even with knowing that, it didn’t stop the feeling I felt when I opened that app.  Which led me to a scripture which reminded me, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands. (1 Thessalonians 4:11)

Before I opened it, I was thankful for what I had.  Thankful for where I was.  Thankful for my blessings.  After opening the app; I was questioning where I was, what I still needed to do, and what I didn’t have.  But therein lies the problem.  The Bible tells us,

“Each one should test their own actions.  Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.” (Galatians 6:4-6)

Keeping this thought at the forefront of my mind and heart is where I choose to focus my eyes.  I really want to delete all social media entirely, but I find it useful for family connection, birthdays and opportunities.  But the days are gone that I will scroll through perusing others’ posts.  I am content.  I am thankful.

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” (Philippians 4:12)

Maria Drayton: originally from Seattle, Washington she is a graduate of Washington State University and has a degree in Communications with an emphasis in Journalism. Maria has traveled all over the United States but currently resides in Deptford, New Jersey with her husband and son. With a passion for the Lord, she has been serving and walking with Him since the early 90’s and desires to bring a young, fresh, new look into intimacy with God.  Since 2001, she attends Bethel Deliverance International Church and desires to begin a women’s ministry for young women to learn to apply God’s word in our daily lives. Follow Maria’s new women’s group S.P.A.R.K.L.E. on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sparklewomen/

Thanks for reading! Blog comments are closed. You can follow Devotional Diva on Facebook here, on Instagram here @devotional_diva, on Twitter here @devotionaldiva and email me at editor(at)devotionaldiva(dot)com anytime.

[Editor’s Note: This is a guest blog by Maria Drayton. What a testimony to God’s faithfulness! READ ON!!]

$100 and Counting

This time I made sure the shower and music were on when I began to sob.  I did not want my son to hear me from outside the bathroom since his room was right next door.  As I stood directly under the shower head I cried, cried, and cried some more.  I was tired, exhausted and at my wit’s end.  All of the bills were overdue and I was already robbing Peter to pay Paul.  Unfortunately, Peter was broke now too.  The night before I had received the shut off notice for my electricity which was due to be shut off the next day, which was today.  If the bill was not paid before 11am then by the end of the day it would be shut off.  There was no money in the bank, no one left to ask, nothing to sell, and it was my midnight hour (although it was morning).

I began to yell at God.  “You said that you would never forsake me!”  “You said that you would supply my need!”  “You said prayers of the righteous availeth much!” I had forgotten about where I was and it was only Him and I.

“I need you to show up TODAY, I don’t have anywhere else to go!”  I yelled.

“Mom, are you okay?”  My son asked from outside the bathroom door.

I yelled back, “Yep, just singing!!!”

I dropped my son off at school and had already made my mind up about not working today.  I justified that thought with “the company doesn’t reimburse me for gas and I have no money to buy gas anyway.” I worked as an outside insurance collector, my job was to go and pick up customer’s monthly premium payments when they called to pay and then deposit it to the company.  But how could I help anybody pay their bill today when I couldn’t even pay my own?  The job that I had, only provided me about $300/week and of course all of my bills were MUCH greater than that.  For a while I had been trying to manage by depleting all my savings, selling stock, selling personal belongings, etc.  I had a child to feed.

But today, I was done.  Physically depleted, emotionally exhausted, broke and in need.  My church had already paid my rent a few months before.  I had already gone for public assistance months prior but they had said I didn’t qualify because the $300/week plus my child support was too much to get help.  I couldn’t understand.  I didn’t make anything, but what I did make was too much to get help?  So here I was, with a shut off notice in my purse and no knowledge of what to do with it.

Just then my phone rang.  It was my client Tracy.  She wanted me to stop by to pick up her payment.  I wrestled with this for a moment because of my earlier decision.  But I thought for a moment about how much I enjoyed Tracy and our talks.  Then I mapped it in my mind to make sure I had enough gas to get there and back home.  It was enough.  I went.

I got to Tracy’s house and just as many times before, we sat and talked.  It was late March and my son’s birthday was right around the corner.  I hadn’t even begun to think about his birthday considering I didn’t have enough for basic bills.  But on and on she went, how much he had grown since the first time she saw him, how old he was getting, what grade he is in now, etc. She asked me what I was doing for his birthday.  I explained that I had so much going on that I hadn’t even started thinking about it.

“I want to give you some money for his birthday,” she seemed as though it was some directive she had been given.  Completely out of the blue, she said it with conviction another time, “Come walk with me to the store so that I can get some money from the cash machine.”  As we walked and talked, I wanted to cry but I held it in.  Now when we got to the store she quickly went to the machine and took money out.  I hadn’t asked her how much she was getting because I was thankful for anything.  She turned and handed me $100 in $20’s.

I thanked her and thanked her and at one point thought, “You shouldn’t be taking any money from your client.”  But I buried that thought immediately because it was not my client but the Lord who was handing me those $20’s through Tracy.

My electric was due to be shut off for $98 past due in about 1 hour.  I left Tracy’s and directly went and paid my electric bill.  I even wrestled a moment with the thought of using my son’s birthday money for the bill instead.  But I knew that it was “my ram in the bush”, “my midnight hour breakthrough”, and my answered prayer.

We all have them. Those times in our lives where we would rather forget.  This time in my life is one that I hold on to tightly never wanting to forget it.  The day He provided for me through another in my midnight hour.

It was only $100 that day but to me it was $1 Million.

Philippians 4:19 “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus”

May He supply all your NEED today.

Maria Drayton: originally from Seattle, Washington she is a graduate of Washington State University and has a degree in Communications with an emphasis in Journalism. Maria has traveled all over the United States but currently resides in Deptford, New Jersey with her husband and son. With a passion for the Lord, she has been serving and walking with Him since 1990 and desires to bring a young, fresh, new look into intimacy with God.  Since 2001, she attends Bethel Deliverance Church and desires to begin a women’s ministry for young women to learn to apply God’s word in our daily lives.

Thanks for reading! Blog comments are closed. You can follow Devotional Diva on Facebook here, on Instagram here @devotional_diva, on Twitter here @devotionaldiva and email me at editor(at)devotionaldiva(dot)com anytime.