Reutter's Life in JapanWhere the beginning of the Sakura marks the grand entrance of the Spring in Japan, the end of the sakura is a beautiful gateway to the rest of the year. Trees and plants sprout leaves and get green. A new school and business year begin. And in our case, this year, our we say goodbye to our parents after a month of being with us. It’s all in this very special episode of Life in Japan.
Over the years we’ve produced over 200 episodes of Life in Japan, and sometimes it feels like we’re only getting started. Since the episodes follow our life in Japan, they come in various forms and subject matter, but some themes (like family, faith, Japanese culture & lifestyle, etc) appear again and again.
But there are episodes that, for me, are my favorite to produce. What makes them that way? I think it’s because they incorporate all of my favorite aspects of Japan — pristine locations, Japanese culture, family fun and adventure. And recently we produced one of my favorite episodes yet: an unforgettable trip with family to Odawara Castle at the height of Sakura bloom.
One of my favorite days of the year is Easter. It’s not just because it’s one of the two major holidays that Christians all over the world celebrate, but it’s because of everything it stands for. It is hope from despair, light over darkness, life from death, beauty from the ashes. It is the day we remember and celebrate that Jesus is not dead and buried, he is alive forevermore! And this year we had a great awesome Easter celebration like no other. If you need to feel some joy, look no further than our Easter celebration at PAZ Church this year.
Fridays are one of people’s favorite days of the week — so much so there’s an expression “Thank Goodness it’s Friday!” It just makes people happy to think about it, so there’s even a restaurant TGIF’s to convey the same idea. But of all the Fridays in the world, there is one Friday that is by far and away better than any other Friday — it’s Good Friday.
If you think about it, Good Friday is an ironic name to use for the day that Jesus gave his life on the cross. At that moment, to Jesus’ mother, disciples and followers, it was anything but good. It was tragic, brutal, unexpected way for Jesus to die. It dashed all their hopes and expectations to the ground. Jesus promised to make everything right between God and man, and all of a sudden he was murdered on the cross! So how in the world can we as Jesus’ followers even call anything about that day good?
What makes it good is the result that it had, for through the pain, torture and punishment of the cross, Jesus set us free from the penalty of our failures, shortcomings and sins before God. He willingly paid the price for it all on the cross, but it didn’t end there, for God raised Jesus from the dead to prove that He is the messiah, the One that the Jews were promised that would come and make man right with man.
Make no mistake, there is no way outside of Jesus for one to be made right with God. Only Jesus lived the perfect life. Only Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins. Only Jesus was raised to life again by God’s power to live forever more and give us eternal life! When I think about it, I am overwhelmed with thankfulness and love for the One who gave His life for me and you.
Because of God’s great love for us in Jesus we can know life, true life. We know life in Jesus, and that life that shines through us and gives us hope, direction, purpose and destiny. I wouldn’t trade anything for the hope we have in Jesus! On this Good Friday, we remember the most amazing display of love ever showed — the love of God in Jesus.
No doubt about it, the blooming of the Sakura (or Cherry-blossoms) is the highlight that kicks off Japan’s spring, but this year it was anything but usual. For starters, the unusual amounts of warmth and sun we had early on in the year triggered the blooming of the Sakura in the Tokyo area 2 weeks sooner than normal. On top of that, usually when Sakura starts to bloom, it all turns very fast and goes full bloom — the pinnacle moment of the Sakura experience. This year it was a long, drawn out drama that intensified and played out before our eyes.
But on a personal note, what made this year so unusual was that we finally got to have Grandpa and Grandma with us again. It had been almost 4 years since they last visited — not because they didn’t want to, but because they couldn’t. They lined their trip up precisely to come when the kids were on Spring Break, and in amazing fashion the Sakura collaborated by blooming right as they came. It all worked together for a most memorable year of unusual happenings, one in which we could try to pack in 4 years worth of memories in one visit.