what easter means to me

Easter is such a special day to so many people and for so many different reasons. The number one reason (for professing Bible believing Christians) is that today is what gives meaning to life. If you follow and believe the Bible, today means that we get to keep living after we die—we will live eternally because Christ has arisen!

I don’t talk much about religion on my blog. I don’t feel very comfortable doing that. and sometimes i feel uncomfortable reading about on others blogs….just for me, I’ve been though so many different seasons of differing religions that I used to find it very offensive. But now I try to practice acceptance of you and your beliefs—whatever they may be. And in turn, I ask kindly that you do the same towards myself and others;)

And I’m certainly not going to get into any lengthy discussion on this forum about religion and all of that—but today, for many reasons, is very special for me.

One reason being that my Mother made this holiday the most important and celebrated holiday of the entire year—to her, it is the MOST IMPORTANT. and I knew from the time I was about 18 months old, that today was not about the Easter Bunny (although we DID do the Easter Bunny routine…..we still do it, infact) but it was about the fact that someone loved me enough to die for me—so that I may have eternal life.

I highlighted that last sentence because I believe strongly that it shaped and molded me to become the person that I am today.

Because I believed it.

I grew up with an internal belief that God is good.

And that I am loved. Not just by my parents but by the creator of the universe.

I grew up believing that because He died and loved me, that my life’s purpose was to love others.

I think this did several things for me as a child and as a growing adult---it gave me a firm sense of self. It gave me a positive and optimistic out look on life. It gave me a sense of purpose and passion. It gave me an unshakable self-esteem. It taught me to be compassionate and to open to Grace. It taught me how to love unconditionally.

The list could go on.

It’s taken me years to be able to write this and be public about an issue of this stature—but I am So thankful to my Mother and Father for instilling in me the belief that not only am I loved and wanted, but that I am loved unconditionally—and wanted more than I could ever imagine.

I think most people live their entire lives searching for those two things—somebody to love them and somebody to want them.

To say I am blessed is an understatement.

Another reason I love easter—almost as much as the first, is that I love candy. And every easter, I eat as much candy as I can possibly fit in my tummy. today was no exception;)

I also love that easter symbolizes life and death—being dead to our old selves and awakening to the new. For me, it’s about transformation—winter is over and spring has arrived. It’s a time of reflection…of purification….of taking a deeper look in. Deciding what’s important, making small changes to bring more peace and harmony into my life.

And always for me, easter is about humility—about unselfishness. And I know I have a long road to hoe, but it’s a road worth traveling on. Life IS difficult—no one said it would be easy (I think those are lyrics to many songs. Ha!) but easter reminds me that we can do it! It reminds me to love more, to be more compassionate; to think more of others and less of myself; to give more of myself to others; to live with honor and respect for myself and others.

I hope each and every one of you that reads this has had a blessed Easter.

I usually don’t do posts this long or wordy or personal, but I can’t get the pictures downloaded to post! Ha! Working on that now! My time in Meridian with my family was awesome and I captured some great pics! Will post them soon.

Until then,

Sweet Dreams!

Jennifer