Day 314-Easter

Sunday, April 5th

Hey guys,

     So, to most of us, Easter is a wonderful thing. Easter is a reminder of God's great and awesome power, and of the price Jesus paid to make a way for sinners to enter into Heaven. However, to our family, and to many other families who have lost loved ones, it is so much more. Easter and the resurrection is a promise; a promise that we WILL see them again, we WILL have our questions answered, we WILL finally see why things happened the way they did, and above all, there will be NO. MORE. PAIN! To us, Easter is a bitter sweet time, while others rejoice at the thought of Christ conquering the grave, we are painfully reminded that Graham is there, and not here. It is sort of a conundrum, as believers, we are overjoyed to be able to enter heaven some day, and we are overjoyed that Graham is there now, but then as humans, that's NOT what we want. We either want Graham here now, or we want to be up in Heaven with him. Because of this conflict, Easter is a very hard time for me, for my family, and for many other families who have lost loved ones. Easter is both a celebration, and a grievance. One GREAT example of the Easter conundrum is that on Easter of 2012, Graham was professing his faith in Jesus, sharing his testimony to the congregation, and was baptized, but on Easter of 2013, we held his funeral in that very same sanctuary. I don't write this to criticize those who see the joy in Easter, or to "bum you out", but I write this to add a different perspective of Easter, one that is VERY real, one that hundreds and hundreds of families deal with. I write this as a reminder that Easter isn't all about the candy, or Easter egg hunts, or pretty dresses, or even a time a joy, it's also a time of sadness. It's a reminder that because of our sinful nature, God created a BARRIER that would forever separate us from him, one that could only be penetrated by Jesus himself. If you look back in Genesis, before The Fall, you will see, God had a VERY personal relationship with both Adam and Eve, he would walk in the garden with them every night, he would carry on conversations with them. After The Fall, that privilege was taken away, and a barrier was established between men and God. So, as you celebrate Easter this year, think about what Easter might mean to others, to someone who doesn't know God, it might just be a day to get free candy. I want to encourage you, if you know someone who has lost a family member, or just seems to be having a hard time celebrating this Easter, don't be afraid to talk to them about it! 

This prayer seemed to be the epitome of how I felt, and how my family felt this Easter.

<3 Always,

Rose