Ring the Bell
by Tanner Olson
writtentospeak.com

I’m back home for Easter.
Last night we went to the Good Friday service at my childhood church.
We sat in the same pew my family has sat in for decades.

Before the service began I noticed a service dog sitting beneath a pew at the feet of their owners.
His tongue licked the cold tile as he got comfortable.
Even those who bring comfort need to get comfortable.
I snapped a photo and made a mental note to write about this night when I got home. 

The service began with the ringing of the bell.
The bell rang 33 times.
1 ring for every year of Jesus’ life on earth.
The dog’s head popped up and looked around for where the noise was coming from.
A montage of the Savior getting older played in my mind as the bell rang again and again.
Jesus as a baby. 
Jesus going to school in the synagogue.
Jesus as an awkward teenager. 
Jesus learning carpentry from his earthly father.
Jesus with his best friends.
Jesus eating family meals.
Jesus teaching and preaching and turning water into wine and restoring the sight of the blind.
Jesus hanging on the cross.
Jesus lifeless in the tomb.

For the next hour we reflected on the life and death of Jesus.
We read scripture and sang and prayed.
We paused to remember the day the world changed forever.
The silence of the room was broken with sniffling.
Everywhere you looked someone was crying.
If you looked at me you’d have seen tears.
I wanted the dog to come sit at my feet or crawl into my lap.

With every passage of scripture we read, a candle was extinguished.
After every Amen the lights were turned down.
By the end of the service, we were sitting in pitch black.
I could no longer see the dog sitting a few rows in front of me.

One thing the world continues to remind us is that darkness and death are all around.
You can’t outrun or dodge death. 

It always comes for us in the end.
The lights get turned off. 

On the cross Jesus tells us it is finished.
And if Jesus says it, it’s true and worth holding onto. 

The silence was broken with a loud slamming, signifying the closing of the tomb.
Everyone jumped.
Even the dog. 

Together we whispered The Lord’s Prayer and I was reminded once again that hope doesn’t let the story end, but it breaks through the darkness like a light.

On Sunday, Jesus will walk out of the tomb and tell us to ring the bell again.
The story doesn’t end with death. 
Hope gets the final word.
Hope always gets the final word.
Because of Jesus the darkness runs and the lights are turned back on.

With hope,

Tanner Olson
@writtentospeak

About the Author

Tanner Olson is an author, poet, speaker, and podcaster living in Nashville, Tennessee.

He is the author of I’m All Over the Place, As You Go, Walk A Little Slower, and Continue: Poems and Prayers of Hope.

You can find Tanner Olson’s books on Amazon.

His podcast is The Walk A Little Slower Podcast with Tanner Olson and can be found wherever you listen to podcasts.

Tanner Olson travels around the country sharing poetry, telling stories, and delivering messages of hope.

You can follow Tanner Olson on Instagram (@writtentospeak) and Facebook where you’ll daily find encouraging words of faith and hope.