Good Friday Reflections

Good Friday... I'll be completely honest. I hate Good Friday services. I hated going to church and reflecting on the death of Christ... I wanted to hurry up and just get to Sunday, when we sing some of my favorites hymns and the service revolves around the celebration of Christ's resurrection. Yes, I want to skip over Friday, and get to Sunday.
But this year is different. I'm not sure why, but this year I want to reflect on Good Friday. I just came home from the service at Calvary, and instead of wanting to do something happy, like watch a movie or eat icecream or laugh lots, I want to sit in silence and reflect. This is not my normal response to sadness or grief. Normally I want to skip over the sad part and reflect on the good things about the person or find the good in every situation... but maybe, just maybe, there is some value in grief.
I think this semester I have been forced to face death head on, with the death of a classmate/ friend in January and the death of an uncle in February. I couldn't just gloss over the grief and get to the happiness in those situations. No, I had to face the fact that these people were no longer here and simply grieve. We don't give time in our society to grieve... we jump from thing to thing, trying to fill our lives with things other than grief. I run away from death, so I don't have to grieve... but this semester, I've learned how unhealthy that is... grief must happen. As hard as that is, grief is something that must be dealt with, in order for true healing to occur.
Maybe, just maybe, as others have said recently, I can't fully appreciate the goodness of Easter Sunday without understanding the grief of Friday. Until I fully embrace this idea of my Savior dying on the cross for me, I cannot fully understand the joy and celebration of Sunday. So yes... Sunday is coming. But today is Friday. And today I grieve.