Easter Thoughts.

Creeping behind our curtain, tomorrow morning, the sun will shine on my face and wake me up. The last two days this has been the case. I love that feeling. Tomorrow as the sun wakes me up it will be Easter. The last several months for us have been very difficult. Baby, school, work, marriage, family, friends, faith, sleep depravity, so many things we have faced we have never had to deal with before. But tomorrow morning I will wake up with the sun on my face. After the sun wakes me up I have two plans. First I'm going to roll over and glance at my beautiful bride...still sleeping of course. When I look at her, since the SON rose up on Easter I know everything is going to be just fine. Bird is the love of my life and the resurrection of Jesus gives us so much hope in marriage, as a spouse we are asked to sacrifice continually for one another...with Easter it is good to know that our sacrifice does not end in death. In marriage the sacrifice does not end it death, it ends in more joy. So as I glance, I will be reminded to keep on sacrificing and to keep on growing as a husband. I've learned that it does end in life...not death.

Secondly, I'm going to walk into Kasaan's room and sing. There is something about Easter that puts a song in my heart. There is something about that kid that makes me want to weep with love. I'm going to sing him a song tomorrow morning. I'm not sure what will come out...up from the grave he arose, or Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, or Christ the Lord is risen today...who knows what will come out...maybe my own little chorus of made up mumblings...."I love you and you are my son, you are beautiful and today is Easter and because its Easter I can love you even more and you never never never never have to die! And I'm going to be your dad for ever and ever and ever and even when we are dead we will be together....who knows what will come out. But I will sing him a song nonetheless. The resurrection of Christ offers me the hope that this kid does not have to die. Christ's defeat of death offers him a life beyond his own. A life not made for this world. This week as I have been pondering what the Cross means to me one day I was doing dishes and Kasaan was playing in the living room. Bird was running some errands and I looked over my shoulder at him playing in perfect peace. Nothing special, just a 2 foot colorful alligator, soft yellow duck and a fluffy bear, in that moment the cross, the tomb, my understanding of love to the point of tears, it all hit me. I would be willing to walk across fire for the life of this little boy. Walk across fire for this little boy. And as I soaped another plate it hit me. "Gregg, I would be willing to walk across fire for you, my little boy. And I have. And now it is over, it is finished, I have purchased you back from the Kingdom of Satan and you are free."

Easter to me is the greatest day out of the year. It is joy, life, love, freedom, hope, and peace. May we take the time to see it everyday....may we take the time to see the love.