An Easter Conversation

Student: So why do we have Easter?
Teacher: Jesus suffered for our sins and died and was resurrected on the third.
Student: Okay, I know but why do we have Easter?
Teacher: Jesus suffered for our sins and was resurrected and now we can repent and be resurrected someday.
Student: I know, I know but why do we have Easter?
Teacher: We celebrate Jesus and his resurrection.
Student: But what do the eggs and bunnies have to do with Jesus.
Teacher: Easter is about Jesus but there are other fun traditions that we participate in as we celebrate. Things like eggs and bunnies are symbols that represent new life like the new life of resurrection because of Jesus.

This very real conversation was one I had with one of my primary children. I love Easter! It is one of my favorite holidays. I love dying eggs and egg hunts. I love family dinner and Easter hymns. I love the springiness of it. One of my favorite hymns is "I stand all Amazed" by Charles H. Gabriel it expresses how I feel about the fact that Jesus "would descend from his throne divine to rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as I mine". I do "stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me". I love Jesus and I'm so grateful for the blessing of his atonement which frees me from my sins and my sorrows. Happy Easter!

Proof

My mother has five children the first three are brown haired, brown eyed girls then surprise a blond, curly haired blue eyed boy and blond, curly haired, blue eyed girl. Brothers and sisters tease and one of my older sisters teased...a lot, especially my little sister. She knew which buttons to push to make her squeal. One attribute she would tease about was little sister's blond hair; surely she was adopted or left on the door step, she didn't look anything like the other girls in the family. This taunting would cause a flood of tears and little sister would run to the comforting arms of Mommy. "Oh no,” Mommy would reassure, “you’re one of mine. I have the scar to prove it!" Next would follow the story of little sister's miracle birth, the emergency C-section rife with drama. Snuggled beside Mommy all was well again and little sister's fears were eased. 

The world can be a harsh place that tries to pull me down. If I ever doubt my worth or feel utterly alone I picture myself next to the Lord as he shows me the nail marks and tells me, "I will not forget thee...I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands"¹. I touch the scars as he tells me the story of his atonement. The atonement he performed for everyone and for only one, me. Next to him all is well again and "I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love."² 

1. Isaiah 49:15-16

2. 2Ne 1:15 

Compelled to Serve

Last month my college age daughter was looking over scholarship applications. She was concerned because she had nothing to list in community involvement or service. I suggested that since she had a few months until the applications were due she had time to get involved in some service opportunities before the deadline. We looked up service opportunities on justserve.org. She found a few projects that she was interested in that met her availability. Excitedly she planned how to serve. She gathered the other children in the family to participate. The children carefully decorated lunch sacks and filled them with snacks for parents at Ronald McDonald House. At the end of the project we were excited to help someone else and motivated to continue with the project each month. My daughter made an interesting comment, she said, “I really want to serve to help people. I don't want to do this just for a grade or an application." She committed then to serving beyond the scholarship deadline and finding additional projects to complete.                                                                                                  

This week I read in Alma 32:14,“because ye were compelled to be humble ye were blessed, do ye not suppose that they are more blessed who truly humble themselves because of the word?” Alma was speaking to the Zoramites who had accepted the word of God but were compelled to do so because of their adverse circumstances. I reflected on how this applied to my sweet daughter. She had at first been compelled to serve because of an application but her heart was changed and she was then compelled to serve because of her love for others and her desire to follow Jesus Christ. She will be greatly blessed because it will bring her closer to Christ and because her commitment is fuller, more sincere, and longer lasting than if her reasons were merely application driven. I feel gratitude seeing the woman she is becoming.