What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about Easter? Marshmallow peeps? The Easter bunny? Beautifully decorated or candy-filled eggs? There’s something very magical about this day that goes beyond all of the fun/commercial aspects of it. For me, Easter has always been my most favorite holiday (although, I may be a little bias seeing as how I’m an April baby, & have celebrated my birthday on Easter). No, it’s not because of the yummy chocolate bunnies that I like to devour. It’s because for me, Easter is about new beginnings.
I have always looked forward to the forty days leading up to Holy week and then Easter because it is always a chance for me to start fresh, start anew. It is my chance to get it right—start reading more scripture, praying more, volunteering more, start really reading through the nice Lenten packets that we get at church on Ash Wednesday. The problem is that I’m always starting and not finishing. Or, I start and finish, but then allow the “old dog” in me to revert back to my “old tricks”. And I know God is not always pleased with me. I don’t know about you, but I know that if I had a friend who continuously let me down or disappointed me, they would no longer be called my friend. But thank goodness for God’s unlimited & undying love for us because even when I fall off course, He allows me to get back on and start over.
It didn’t hit me until I was much older just how special this day really is. Jesus dying on the cross was the ultimate sacrifice for me as His child because if this didn’t take place, He would not have risen again. Without Him resurrecting from the dead, then my/our faith would be in vain. It’s His resurrection that gives us the promise of new beginnings and everlasting life. It takes on an even stronger and deeper meaning every year, now that I have children of my own. It forces me to want to be a better parent so that Jesus’ death was not in vain. Yes it’s fun to see their eyes light up when you talk about the Easter bunny or when they go on a scavenger hunt to look for the candy-filled eggs. But it makes me a very proud momma when my four-year old is excited to go to church because he knows that “Jesus died on the cross for you and for me”. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 11:25 NKJV). Let this Easter bring you a new beginning, a fresh start, a new way of living, and an abundance of blessings.
Happy Easter!
Stay tuned & stay blessed,
Christine
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