In All Uncertain Terms

Passover is my favorite holiday. In rural Midwest America, it’s relatively unknown, or at least not thought about. Because of that obscurity, it is not commercialized. Unlike New Year, Easter, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or even minor holidays like Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day, you won’t find cheap, gaudy decorations at the local Walmart for Passover. For the majority of people in my small town, it’s just a regular spring week. This is probably in part due to the demographic, with the vast majority of the population being either Christian or nonreligious.

I find it odd, though, that most Christians don’t celebrate Passover. Sure, we believe we are no longer obligated to, not being under the authority of the Old Testament law, but for myself and many of my friends, it’s a privilege. We desire to celebrate Passover, not out of some requirement or attempt at extra holiness, but because we worship the same God who performed the miracle millennia ago. After all, Christianity is a continuation of Judaism, and Yahweh’s deliverance of Israel is no less good or remarkable now. Besides, it’s fun. The Passover seder (structured, ritualistic meal) is a beautiful, welcoming, moving, delicious experience, and one I impatiently wait for every year.

One of the most iconic moments in the Passover seder is the dayenu song. “Dayenu” means “it would have been enough.” The seder participants retell the Exodus story, singing dayenu after every event. At last year’s Passover, my friend who was hosting and leading the seder suggested that we each share our own personal versions of the dayenu, to showcase the blessing and work God had done in our lives that year. I didn’t think about it early enough to be ready to share at last year’s seder, but since I think it’s an excellent suggestion, I wanted to be prepared this time around. So, to kick off this year’s Passover, here is my personal dayenu song praising God for his blessings over the past four years:

If God had given me my husband, but had not provided us the means for a wedding with our large community,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he had given us the wedding, but had not provided us with jobs,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he had given us jobs, but had not provided a place for us to live,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he had given us a place to live, but did not allow my husband to pursue his degree,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he had allowed my husband to pursue his degree, but had not provided a new church community,

dayenu–it would have been enough,

If he had given us a new church community, but had not provided us with the perseverance to make it through the year,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he had given us the perseverance, but had not provided the means to visit Israel,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he had given us the trip to Israel, but had not allowed us to move back to our home town,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he had allowed us to move back to our home town, but had not provided us with jobs,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he had given us jobs, but had not provided a new place to live,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he had given us a place to live, but had not provided us with a baby,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he had given us a baby, but had not brought that baby to term,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he he had brought the baby to term, but had not provided the means for me to stay home part time,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he had given us the means for me to stay home part time, but had not provided another baby,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he had given us another baby, but had not brought that baby to term,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he had brought that baby to term, but had not provided the means for me to stay home full time,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he had provided the means for me to stay home full time, but had not provided me a new means of employment from home,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he had provided a new means of employment from home, but had not given us the opportunity to buy a house of our own,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

If he had given us a house of our own, but had not nourished the community around us,

dayenu–it would have been enough.

He did, though. He did all of those things, and more, which I’ve omitted for the sake of brevity. He is good.

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Have your own dayenu moments you’d like to share? Comment below, and add to the testament to God’s goodness.