Easter this year has been a time
of France and birthdays,
sun cream and sun glasses,
blue skies and the sparkling Mediterranean sea.

It has been a time
of lazy days
spent with family
and of two glorious weeks
spent off work!
Wonderful!

But all too soon
my holiday is over
and Monday morning finds me
cycling across the Queen Elizabeth Bridge
on my way to work.

Grey skies and mist,
wet feet and waterproofs –
the antithesis of France!

Turning a corner
at the end of the bridge
I find myself greeted
by hundreds of daffodils,
golden and gently swaying
in the morning rain.
The daffodils must have appeared
during my fortnight’s break,
thriving in the damp, Irish weather!

The sight of the daffodils
lifts my heart
and whispers an assurance
that summer is not far off.

Thank you, Lord,
for the gift of these daffodils
which welcomed me
on a rainy day
as I returned to work!

© Claire Murray, 2nd April 2016

Lord,
today feels like Easter –
sunshine and birdsong outside
and a sense of hope and forgiveness
in my heart.

As I settle down in prayer
my mind fills
with those occasions
when you appeared to your disciples
after your resurrection.
Those appearances were times
of gentleness, patience
and forgiveness
as you walked and talked with your disciples
on the way to Emmaus
before breaking bread with them
and as you sat
by the shores of the sea of Tiberius
with your disciples
chatting and eating grilled fish.

Lord,
in this season of Easter
give me the grace to display towards others
the same gentleness, patience
and forgiveness
that you have shown towards me
so that, in my life,
I may spread the light of Easter
instead of holding onto
the darkness of the past.

© Claire Murray, 2nd April 2016

Today’s my birthday,
which I love,
and it’s Easter Sunday,
which I also love.

YAY!
D O U B L E      C E L E B R A T I O N S ! ! !

I feel excited and delighted,
filled with the happiness
that a birthday brings
and at the same time
I feel steeped in the swirl
of peace, joy and forgiveness
that this Easter brings.

What a feeling!

As it happens,
we spend most of the day
journeying home from France,
waiting and travelling
on buses and on the plane.
Thankfully,
all goes according to plan.

I don’t mind
that most of the day is spent travelling
because no matter what we do today,
it’s my Easter birthday!

Watching the sunset from the bus
on our way back to Belfast
I give thanks to My God
for his many gifts today –
a day spent happily with my family,
a day spent travelling safely
and the precious gift
of an Easter Sunday birthday.

Bliss!

© Claire Murray

On Palm Sunday
Jesus was certainly
the hero of the hour –
practically carried, shoulder-high,
into Jerusalem
by crowds who shouted, cheered
and waved palms,
parting before him
in a sea of welcome.

This was truly an ancient equivalent
of a modern-day ticker-tape parade!

How could it possibly be
that only a few days later
these same people
were chanting as one voice,
“Crucify him!”?

How could people be so fickle?

Surely, two thousand years later,
people are no longer like that,
and crowds could not be swayed so easily?
Or could they?

And yet
you only have to follow soccer on TV
to know that people today are every bit as fickle
as they were in Jesus’ time.

It only takes a run of defeats
to cause “loyal” supporters
to forget all about
a wealth of silverware accumulated
and a string of leagues won.

I sometimes wonder
whether soccer managers
might have a unique insight
into how Jesus felt
as he stood before Pilate,
hearing crowds chanting for his execution?

Times have certainly changed …
… but sadly,
human nature hasn’t.

© Claire Murray, 22nd March 2016