Easter by Susan L.

  It's Easter Sunday, the best day of the year. It's the day of redemption, re-birth and renewal.
  I bet there's a lot of happy, chocolate stuffed, egg pursuing children out there. My birthday fell on Easter Sunday a long (long!) time ago. Getting a basket full of chocolate eggs and bunnies was a double blessing.
  I enjoyed hiding the foil wrapped chocolate eggs throughout the house for my own children. Their happy scrambling and enjoyment was fun to watch. The Easter bunny always left a note with the exact amount to find which, once they were all collected, would be shared equally. However, there was always one egg that turned up in June, bringing a chuckle. I wasn't sure if it had been missed or if the 'bunny' couldn't count! Needless to say, they didn't get to eat it. Good memories.
  Once again that familiar emotion swells within me: gratitude. It's about more than remembering the good times or celebrating milestones. It's for being in this place where I am right now, happily typing, glancing out the window at the sun filled yard and seeing the grass turn green. It's for knowing that my Lord rose into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. It's knowing that without His sacrifice, I wouldn't be here today.
  It's knowing His love is more than I could ever possibly imagine.
  "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also." Jn 14:18-19