Kara Hood

Message No. 4 of 13

Easter

Easter holds so many memories of family for me. I find myself going back and remembering, trying to pick Kara out of the jumble. I remember an Easter Sunday when we were on vacation at Myrtle Beach. We were dragged off the beach, quite reluctantly, to go to church. Maybe I was the reluctant one, but I seem to remember arguing that being on vacation included being on vacation from church. Jason would love that one. The church was packed, and I remember us being tightly squeezed into a pew near one of the exits. After a while Emily, who was just a baby then, started crying with great enthusiasm. It got the point where people around us were turning and staring. This really bothered Jason and he started crying, feeling self-conscious about the scene. I remember looking over at Kara, who started crying not so much because she was embarrassed, but just because Emily and Jason were, and tears were contagious in our family. Once again I did the mature big brother thing, and started making fun of Jason and Kara, which only added to the scene we were making. That was the end of church for the Hood family that Easter. Riding home from church twenty minutes after we had arrived I was thinking how God really does answer prayers... Today we are going over to Aunt Ann's for Aidan's first Easter egg hunt. For so many years all of us cousins scrambled around that same back yard looking for hidden eggs. I remember Kara, Jason and I going into the back yard to hours after the hunt, looking for the one last 'treasure' that no one had found yet. (It usually was a hard boiled egg that had been in the sun all that time, or some chocolate a squirrel had already gotten into:) To return today with Aidan and a new generation of cousins hunting for eggs makes me smile and cry at the same time. In Easter we celebrate the defeat of death and the promise of eternal life, yet I am still sad. Kara is gone from our lives, and her absence is overwhelming. I feel her absence everywhere I go, in everything I do I feel its weight. The starkness of her absence leaves me with doubts and questions. What if we are wrong, and this life is all there is? The possibility of not being in Kara's presence again only deepens my sadness. I find myself thinking of the gospel story of when someone is asked if he believes. He says "I believe, help my unbelief." That has become my prayer, my mantra lately. I believe, help my unbelief. My doubts and sadness remain, but my belief is strong. Kara's spirit, her presence was too vibrant have just disappeared, and I believe I will see her again. Kara often wrestled with the same kind questions, and so I take heart that I am on the right path. This is my prayer for all of us this Easter, that God and Kara will strengthen our faith and help us with our doubts. Happy Easter.

Chris Hood Chris Hood

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Easter
	Easter holds so many memories of family for me. I find myself going back and remembering, trying to pick Kara out of the jumble. I remember an Easter Sunday when we were on vacation at Myrtle Beach. We were dragged off the beach, quite reluctantly, to go to church. Maybe I was the reluctant one, but I seem to remember arguing that being on vacation included being on vacation from church. Jason would love that one. The church was packed, and I remember us being tightly squeezed into a pew near one of the exits. After a while Emily, who was just a baby then, started crying with great enthusiasm. It got the point where people around us were turning and staring. This really bothered Jason and he started crying, feeling self-conscious about the scene. I remember looking over at Kara, who started crying not so much because she was embarrassed, but just because Emily and Jason were, and tears were contagious in our family. Once again I did the mature big brother thing, and started making fun of Jason and Kara, which only added to the scene we were making. That was the end of church for the Hood family that Easter. Riding home from church twenty minutes after we had arrived I was thinking how God really does answer prayers... Today we are going over to Aunt Ann's for Aidan's first Easter egg hunt. For so many years all of us cousins scrambled around that same back yard looking for hidden eggs. I remember Kara, Jason and I going into the back yard to hours after the hunt, looking for the one last 'treasure' that no one had found yet. (It usually was a hard boiled egg that had been in the sun all that time, or some chocolate a squirrel had already gotten into:) To return today with Aidan and a new generation of cousins hunting for eggs makes me smile and cry at the same time. In Easter we celebrate the defeat of death and the promise of eternal life, yet I am still sad. Kara is gone from our lives, and her absence is overwhelming. I feel her absence everywhere I go, in everything I do I feel its weight. The starkness of her absence leaves me with doubts and questions. What if we are wrong, and this life is all there is? The possibility of not being in Kara's presence again only deepens my sadness. I find myself thinking of the gospel story of when someone is asked if he believes. He says "I believe, help my unbelief." That has become my prayer, my mantra lately. I believe, help my unbelief. My doubts and sadness remain, but my belief is strong. Kara's spirit, her presence was too vibrant have just disappeared, and I believe I will see her again. Kara often wrestled with the same kind questions, and so I take heart that I am on the right path. This is my prayer for all of us this Easter, that God and Kara will strengthen our faith and help us with our doubts. Happy Easter.
	Chris Hood Chris Hood