Easter!

Today is Good Friday, and I am so excited that Easter is in 2 days! On this day, my Lord voluntarily was tried in an unfair trial, whipped and beaten until He was unrecognizable, and brutally hung to die on a wooden cross. Voluntarily. Wow. Of course, I heard the story much while growing up, but every year it seems to mean more to me, and I appreciate it more. Maybe because I am close to the age Jesus was when He died. Maybe my adult thoughts are more similar to how His were, and I can identify a little better with Him. But it's amazing. Amazing He loves so much. He took on my sin for me, not that I would then have the freedom to sin as I please, but that I may have the freedom to love and show grace and forgiveness as He does.

My family has a wonderful Easter tradition. We all attend church together (I cry every year - so grateful for everything I have!), then enjoy one of THE BEST brunches ever at Finn & Porter. I'm telling you, anything you can imagine they have. My mouth is already watering! After stuffing ourselves to no end, we roll back to our cars and head home to change. Then we meet up at my parents' house (the one we were all raised in), pick out the best bag you can find for egg collecting, and then it's GAME ON! My mother hides 500 easter eggs over a 2-acre lot, strictly for the adults (my dad, 7 siblings, and me). Those eggs are filled with "tickets" for prizes such as household items, clothing, tools, etc., as well as candy and money. We train all year for this event! After we are fairly sure all the eggs have been found, we go inside for the prize distribution, admire our loot, and then trade as you see fit. Of course, laughing the entire time as well (like the time my brother got a little too eager in his collecting and later found dog poo in his bag along with the eggs he had grabbed).

Sound greedy? Yeah, it probably is. But I love that my parents make Easter one of the most special days of the year. Because, even more so than Christmas, this day represents everything we believe in. It represents everything I believe in. Not just because I was raised this way, but because I have searched my soul and know without a doubt that there is a God. There is a God who sent His son Jesus to die for me. And I believe that Jesus did not stay dead - He was raised after 3 days, just as He promised, and just as all the prophets hundreds of years before said He would. He is alive and He loves me, and He is my reason for being.

I can't deny there is a God. I have heard Him speak to me. I have felt His presence in a room, and in me. I have seen His workings and His miracles. I have no doubt. I could always choose to walk away from it, but I could never deny He is who He says He is. There is too much evidence.

Many feel that being a Christian is no fun, that there is no freedom. Yeah, I guess sometimes it can feel that way. I mean, if I am to live in obedience to the Bible it doesn't give me the freedom to cheat on my husband. But would I want to anyway? And the Bible doesn't give me freedom to steal or kill or hurt others. But is getting to do that rewarding? The freedom I have is to live without guilt, and to know that God is making me into the best person I can be - the person He created me to be. I have a joy and a hope that I would otherwise not have without Him. And I know that my God can do anything, that He keeps His promises, and that He loves me like no one else ever can or will. I can be stripped of everything in my life - my house, my family, my money, my health. But my God and my faith can not ever be taken from me. And that is something I will never walk away from. He has given me so much, and asks so little in return.

So, as you celebrate Sunday in whatever fashion you do, think about how loved you are. Whether you believe in God or not, it doesn't matter to Him - you are loved anyway, just as I know I am. And THAT is a joyful thing!

"Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise. And they remembered his words." Luke 24:5-7