The Last to Leave, the First to See

"Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance . . . So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb . . . He saw and believed . . . Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying . . . At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that is was Jesus.

"'Woman,' He said, 'why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?'

"Thinking he was the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.'

"Jesus said to her, 'Mary . . . '
~selected verses from John 20:1-16

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know it's safe in their mouth." ~quote from a child

I am one of those people who always seem to be one of the last to he leave many events ~ family functions, church, receptions, get-togethers with friends. Maybe it's because I'm a social person, maybe it's because I hate to see a good thing end, or maybe it's because I hate good-byes; I really don't know why, but it seems to end up that way.

But in being one of the last people to leave I am often rewarded. My favorite "rewards" come in precious conversation and sharing with those who are also some of the last to leave. I have had some of the best personal time with friends and family by simply hanging around after the gang has left.

It's also hard to leave someone that you know you may never see again; at least in this lifetime. Mary Magdalene must have been like that, too. Her whole nasty world was turned up-side-down by the grace and forgiveness of Jesus. She was hanging with a whole new group of people ~ people who loved her for who she was becoming, not condemning her for who she had been ~ and it was all because of Jesus, the Lover and Savior of her soul.

Now, Jesus was viciously and cruelly taken from the world, hastily laid in a borrowed tomb without the benefit of preparation or ceremony. And now . . . NOW . . . Jesus was GONE!

But there was the gardener . . . he may know! When she asked the "Gardener," He lovingly let the most beautiful sound she had ever heard flow from His lips: "Mary." Oh, how lovely that must have sounded! It was Jesus . . . living again . . . raised triumphant over death, hell and the grave . . . and He was saying her name.

The last to leave was the first to see. Rewarded again.

Blessings, Kim<><