By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
This week is Holy Week, and this year Passover and the Resurrection overlap. Both events shaped human history and will continue to do so as long as there are humans on this planet. What happened in both cases was more epic than what could ever be produced on a screen or bound in a book, although masterful attempts have been made to do so. And thankfully, we have the original, divinely written accounts from which we can garner strength and comfort all year long, every year.
Truth be told, you would think that as a believer writing a Point about events that are so central to my faith would have been kind of a no-brainer, right? I mean, how often does the publication date of the first edition in April coincide with Good Friday? Wasn’t this nearly the editorial version of “just add water?” One would think…
However, I was coming up drier than toast, and my faithful crew was patiently waiting. The deadline was looming, and this may seem silly to some, but I asked friends and family to pray. You see, I take my job as the publisher of Athens Now as a serious and sacred charge. Fifteen years ago, I was given a gift, an opportunity to provide “information and inspiration” to the people of Athens-Limestone County, and ultimately to people in 80 countries, which is mind-boggling. Except for one edition during COVID, by God’s grace, we have been able to complete our mission, albeit sometimes by a nose.
So, what finally shook out was a story that at the least would be incredibly easy to miss, and at the worst could appear to be self-serving. However, in my mind, it perfectly illustrates The Greatest Story Ever Told. It is about a doormat.
A young woman whom I have met personally is a triumphant “sur-thriver” of human trafficking, and has graduated from the restoration program at Pure Hope Ranch. She not only has done the bravest thing a person could do, and that is to allow God to split the Red Sea for her, and then allow herself to be continually transformed by what was purchased on Calvary; she has studied hard to become an EMT. She also is about to move into her first home. That calls for a housewarming.
So, through the marvels of modern technology, a list of needed and desired items available on Amazon was circulated online, and it featured everything from faux plants that would survive forever to a toilet brush. And then my eyes beheld a doormat, and not just any doormat, but one that has a stylized sunburst on it. How can I explain what happened next? That doormat became the symbol of Holy Week, and I almost missed the chance to let the story do its work. Our family literally “checked off the box,” snapped it up, sent it on its way, and it is supposed to arrive today, on Good Friday. From now on, a “divine doormat” will greet her guests when they arrive at her door.
The sun is indeed rising in her life in a whole new way because the Son is rising in her life in a whole new way. A doormat is a symbol of welcome along with humble cleansing, and while I know that someday it will get completely worn out and probably will have to be discarded, the stories behind it never will. And, talk about the joy of giving, now that could be a subject for a whole ‘nother Point!
May you have a most blessed Passover and Resurrection, with love from all of us at Athens Now.
