Pesach (Passover) Celebration 14 Nisan 5772 (April 6, 2012)

I have to say that my first Passover Seder Celebration(s) were meaningful, and joyful.  More so by the fact that my family was able to offer a sacrifice of praise to HaShem.  We celebrated the gift of eternal life through Yeshua the Messiah in spite of life's testing.
I know I haven't shared this with you on this blog, but my beautiful, eighteen month old, grand daughter has special needs.  She was born with Spina Bifida.  Spina Bifida is one of the most common birth defects in the world.  It affects all races and all people groups.  While the medical community in the US boasts that the incidence of Spina Bifida has decreased dramatically since the push for pregnant women to take folic acid began in 1992, I am of the opinion that the incidence has decreased because of the high abortion rate.  

I need to add that after the diagnosis of Spina Bifida was made in utero,  my daughter was encouraged, until 24 weeks gestational age, to abort my grand daughter.  She was "forced" to hear every possible negative scenario that could possibly play itself out in my grand daughter's life at every prenatal appointment.  The suffering my daughter and my son-in-law were experiencing was compounded by the insensitivity of some in the medical community. 

This suffering was overshadowed by the joy of receiving her into the world.  She is beautiful in every way.  We know that she is fearfully and wonderfully made.  We know she is very intelligent and she is capable in a special way. 

The joy of having her in our lives these past 18 months has not been without testing.  The first year of her life included a fractured femur, diagnosed at 2 days of birth.  No one could explain how that happened.  Then there was a two week intensive care stay close to her first birthday that sent the entire family into a tail spin.  We saw HaShem work in miraculous ways on her behalf during those two weeks. 

Now you may be asking what does any of this have to do with Pesach 2012.  Well, my daughter on that day received disturbing news from the baby's urologist that the baby's kidneys were in danger.  She was told that the baby now has kidney reflux.   In order to reverse and prevent any further kidney damage my daughter would have to start a rigid regimen of non stop care, and new medications were added to her existing medication regimen.

With such bad news weighing on our hearts we weren't sure if we were going to attend the festive Passover Seder at Sar Shalom or the Seder at Bethel Fellowship the next day.  Such was the heaviness we were feeling.

My daughter prayed and faith rose up within her.  In her heart she knew, "this had come to pass, and not to stay."  Quickly we prepared to attend the Seder.  In less than an hour we were all ready.

Sar Shalom had a full to capacity banquet prepared for the night.  At the banquet hall, each table setting had a Seder Plate with the traditional items on it:

Maror and Chazeret — Bitter herbs, horseradish is symbolic of the bitterness and harshness of slavery. 

Charoset— A sweet, brown mixture of chopped nuts, chopped apples, red wine or honey, representing the mortar used by the Hebrew slaves in Egypt  for building storehouses.

Karpas— A vegetable like parsley that gets dipped in salt water.  The salt water represents the tears that are shed by those in slavery. 

Z'roa—A roasted lamb or goat shank bone, chicken wing, or chicken neck; symbolizing the sacrificial lamb.

Beitzah — A hard-boiled egg, symbolic of the festival sacrifice that was offered in the Temple, then roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night.  It now represents the loss of the Temple in Jerusalem.

The seventh symbolic item on the Seder table is a plate of three whole matzot. 

Rabbi Mark lead in the telling of the Passover (Pesach Haggadah).  As he told the Passover story and as we ate of the elements on the Seder plate we remembered the bitterness of the life in slavery to sin.  We remembered the many tears we had shed and the heavy burden of sins we had carried.  BUT then, we rejoiced over the gift of redemption and the new life we received through Messiah Yeshua.  We ate and we celebrated.  With my cell phone I tried to capture a bit of the celebration. 

The next day, as we partook of the beautiful Passover Seder at Bethel Fellowship, we were blessed yet again.  Great worship, delicious food, and a family setting, made this Passover Seder a wonderful experience.  My family received yet again a double portion of HaShem's love.  We  sang, danced, and rejoiced at His Salvation.

 

Does this mean that we are without trouble.  Of course not.  We will never be without trouble or testing.  But we know that we have reason to rejoice.  Despite our circumstances, we have hope.  My first Passover Seder(s) will be remembered by our rejoicing in the miracle of His Salvation in spite of difficulties.  When we are weak, yet He is strong.  That, my friend, is definitely one thing I want to share with my precious grand daughter when she gets old enough to understand.