At the end of her first day on Earth, Eve nestled into the arms of her man Adam. Her mind was going over everything she had seen that day. What a wonderful Garden the two of them lived in! She had tasted the fruit of many trees that day, and there were still more varieties of plants with fruit to be tasted. She had seen God, and Adam had appeared especially thankful to Him.
As she had watched her man work in the Garden that day, her love for him grew by the minute. As the day wore on, however, she became tired. Her man insisted that she sit with him and stare at the western sky that evening. They watched a beautiful sunset--her first ever--and then it became dark. The two of them collapsed in the shelter the man had made, and the woman made a mental note that when they were not tired any more, she would need to redecorate the shelter, but not before giving it a good cleaning. Her mind raced as his breathing became slow and steady.
"Adam!" she called.
"What?" He woke with a start. "What's the matter?"
"Where does the sun go?"
"I don't know. I'll ask God about it in the morning."
"What's 'the morning'," she asked, innocently.
Adam explained, "When I am tired, the sun disappears. Or maybe it's the other way around. Anyway, when I awake, that is when the light gets brighter, so I can see the work that God has given me to do."
Eve wrinkled up her nose. "I don't understand," she said.
"Don't worry about it, Darling. God has it all in control."
The two of them closed their eyes. It only seemed natural to rest when they became tired. God had, indeed, taken away the sun. The long shadows engulfed them in darkness, and they sank into blissful sleep.
Eve woke with a start. Maybe it was when Adam turned over in his sleep, and stopped holding her. She noticed it was still dark. She began to worry.
"God," she whispered into the darkness. "Are you there? Will the sun ever reappear?"
In her mind, she heard a soothing voice. "Yes, my child, I am here. To answer your question, the sun never moves. It never goes out--not as long as you will live."
"But God, I can't see it. It's so dark now."
"Go back to sleep, my daughter. You will see the sun again soon."
Comforted, but confused, Eve put her arm around her husband and fell asleep.
The next thing she knew, the shelter was infused with the light and warmth from the sun. She smiled. Adam, who had been watching her sleep, asked her why she was smiling.
"God told me something," she said.
"What did He say?"
"I told you so."
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Mary was lying in her bed on the Sunday after the Passover. Her mind raced.
All of the Passover celebrations she had ever known--indeed, all of the Passover celebrations she had ever heard of--were just that: celebrations. But the events of the past week weighed heavy on her mind.
Jesus, the man whom many had thought was the Messiah, had been arrested and executed. His death had taken his disciples by surprise. Hadn't he done many signs and wonders among them? It had seemed that he was above the laws of nature. And his message had seemed to be one of eternal life. But now he was, tragically, dead.
What would they do?
"God," she prayed. "This man Jesus was proclaimed to be Your Son. If that was true, then where has Your Son gone?"
Hearing only the silence in her mind, she arose and started gathering spices to annoint his body. His execution on a Roman cross had occurred so late in the day that they could do nothing for him on Friday. Pilate released his body to Joseph, a disciple from Arimathea. Joseph had a tomb; Mary knew where it was. He said he had wrapped the body in linen cloths, but she knew it had not been done properly. Men could rarely complete the task without a woman's help. Then there was the Sabbath, and no one wanted to be declared unclean. He would still be there on Sunday.
She met her friends, Joanna, the other Mary, and Salome, and the four of them made their way to the tomb. They approached at first light, but something seemed amiss. The Roman guards were gone. They had all worried whether the Roman soldiers would help them remove the heavy stone, and go in. There, instead, were two men in gleaming white robes.
The stone was gone, too. The opening stared at them like a yawning abyss. Confused and afraid, the women looked at one another, then at the angels. The unspoken question hung between them: "Where was the Son? Would they ever see Him again?"
Then they heard a booming voice. "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples He has risent from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee."
The others seemed encouraged, and hurried off to tell the men. Mary was frightened and confused. She paced to and fro in the cemetery, wondering what this all meant. She saw a man--surely he was the caretaker. She grabbed his cloak. "Sir," she cried. "If you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will go and get Him and bring Him back."
The man touched her tenderly, as Jesus had often done before. He uttered a single word. "Mary," he said.
Suddenly, all the emotions, all the feelings, all the confusion melted away. It was Him! "Teacher," she cried.
What He said to her after that was lost in her utter and extreme joy. She knew. He was alive. And in her heart, she heard God's voice. "I told you I'd always be here for you. Didn't you believe?"
Mary hurried back to tell the disciples. Joyfully, she declared, "I have seen the Lord."
Peter, John, James, Joanna, Salome and all the others discussed this among themselves. Later, they would see Him, too. For that moment, however, Mary was the one with the confident smile on her face, because she had heard the clear clear message from the Master.
"I told you so."
