Easter: I remember

It’s Thursday night. No, it’s actually Friday now. 5 days after Easter. I’ve been thinking about writing a post about Easter, had some thoughts stewing. But, now, it’s 5 days later. The week has been busy as we prepare to roll out the big May fundraising drive for The Sparrow Fund while still managing We Are Grafted In as well as Jiayin Designs as well as editing part-time. Oh, add parenting 4 children in there still. Busy, busy week. And, sadly, I feel like everyone including myself has moved on from Easter. There are just a few decorations still cluttering up my dining room that need to be put back downstairs until next spring. Easter candy still sitting out now is getting tossed into the trash can. Easter themed coloring pages stuck to my frig are being replaced by generic spring pages or Mother’s Day themed ones.

And, that’s it. Easter’s over.

Sad.

I am one who celebrates dates (if you didn’t already know that). I like to recognize significant dates for our family and, of course, I then blog about them–birthdays, anniversaries, referral day, the day we received Lydia…I note them on my calendar and I anticipate them, plan for them, prepare for them. And, yet, sadly, I posted nothing for Easter, the most important date in my life, the one that gives the rest of our important dates meaning. As each day this week passed without an Easter post, it just made me think more about it. And, maybe that’s good after all.

I guess you could say that as believers, we celebrate Easter everyday really. Without Jesus’ resurrection, Christianity would not even exist. Jesus would have been a prophet, a really good man who had great ideas, a gifted teacher/preacher, a healer, a miracle worker, a man who stood up what was right and good…but He would not have been God. But, because of Easter, because He actually took the sin of all mankind…my sin…and took every last one–that had been from the beginning of time and that will be until the end of time–to the cross. He took them all on Himself and died. And, then He conquered death so that we through faith in Him can also conquer death–forever. Eternal life. That’s Christianity. That’s Easter. That’s what allows me to fall to my knees in humility, recognizing that even the best obedience of my hands does not appear before His throne, only what Christ has done for me. And, I am thankful. An overwhelmed kind of thankful.

I don’t feel bad putting the Easter fluff away. I don’t like pastels or bunnies. And, I’m pretty tired of stepping on half pieces of plastic eggs and finding random strands of Easter grass.

But, thankfully, that’s not Easter.

April 24th was over 5 days ago. But, there really is nothing magical about that day. Christ didn’t actually come back to life on April 24th. But, we set that day, a day, aside every year–people do around the world–those who follow Christ and even those who don’t–to remember what Christ did on that Easter day 2,000 years ago.

And, I remember.

I enjoyed the traditions of dying Easter eggs and sharing the story of Easter again with my kids. I enjoyed a family meal made special for us by my mother-in-law. I enjoyed watching our children run around on that beautiful warm day hunting for plastic eggs filled with melted chocolate candy. I love traditions. But, I love them not simply because they are fun but because they help me remember.

And, that remembering goes far beyond one day of traditions.

I pray that I would be reminded of Easter everyday and that it would be more real to me everyday than the significant dates in our family and in our children’s individual stories.

And, as we celebrate those dates throughout the year, may they always bring us back to Him.

*I decided to post a different set of pictures with this post. Instead of posting pictures of all the Easter traditions, I am posting pictures of a quilt of Lydia’s special dates made by Mark’s mom and given to her this Easter. A wonderful tangible reminder and a special keepsake for her of her story and God’s hands over it all.*