Happy Easter!

I've loved a lot of holidays in my time--although never Halloween or Valentine's Day, to be honest--but I think Easter is edging out the rest. I love Easter. I love the springiness of it, the cute little animals and the pretty pastels and the promise of summer vegetables in my freshly planted garden. I love watching the kids hunt for eggs, the giddy smiles they get opening them up to see what they find (my poor kids, sadly, found lots of spare change which they had to count in an impromptu math lesson, although they will shortly turn said change in for an actual item of choice). I even left their Easter baskets outside the patio door, though we don't support the Easter Bunny and his other holiday cohorts. When pressed, though, I couldn't bear to spoil their bright little faces. "Maybe one of God's angels left you a present for Christ's rebirth." To which they responded, "Um, maybe it was the Easter Bunny." Hmm...

Which brings me to the best part about Easter: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Although there's much more hoopla surrounding Christmas, Easter is really the more meaningful holiday. It matters the He lived, of course, and it matters that He died, but without Easter--without overcoming death--His life would have been but a mark in the history books. But because of Easter, He tells us: "Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades." (Rev. 17b-18). What a concept! The first and last, the bookends of our lives, and He holds the keys of death. He has conquered it, paving the way for His followers.

I understand that not everyone relates to this notion. For them, Easter might be more about that Easter Bunny, or Cadbury Eggs, or those creepy neon peeps. But all of those, in some way, stem from this idea of rebirth, of the way spring reflects the resurrection of life. And as one who knows Christ, who knows the sacrifice that was made and the promise brought out of it, I end Easter feeling blessed, awed, and a little less fearful than before. It's as though I've been walking through the winter valley of shadows and He's opened the door to a whole new day.