Our Weekend + A Reflection on Easter

Photo: Author

Happy Easter Monday! We were so blessed to have my wonderful parents here with us this weekend to celebrate Easter. We went to church yesterday and then had a yummy late lunch with my parents and our good friends. My mom has always done incredible holiday meals and inspired me to pull out all the stops: leg of lamb, spoonbread grits w mushroom sauce, roasted asparagus, sugar cookies, and a beautiful lemon bundt cake. It was a hit. 

Easter is my very favorite holiday. I love the time of year, the awakening of Spring, the pastel colors, chocolate, etc. More than all of this, though,  I am so deeply moved by the celebration of victory over death, the resurrection of Jesus, and what it means for us as a broken and rebellious people. I believe fiercely in the resurrection of Christ. I believe it based on reason and logic, as well as a deep ring of truth in my gut and my soul. In my life, I have been wrecked by the love of Christ, and the fact that he died for me, and for all of creation, that we may be able to turn away from the sin within us and have a relationship with Him. It amazes me and endlessly humbles me to think that God could love such a sinful, prideful, broken person such as me that much. And you, he loves you too! This weekend we heard that our God is a God of infinite and supreme grace, and that "He loves people with a past and who are wrestling within the present." We remembered that Christianity is not about being good people, living by a moral code, but rather it is about who Jesus is.  When he died he said "It is done." Our faith is not about what you "do" but rather how it is "done." Finished. You can choose joy! You can choose life! Eternity. You have been qualified by Christ. All you have to do is turn to him. 

If you are reading this and are a believer then rejoice with me. He is risen. If you are unsure, if you have doubts, if you vehemently disagree, or you just don't care then I would ask you this--Are you willing to weigh the evidence? Are you willing to examine it for yourself? Heres the thing--as cliché as it sounds, life is short. If these claims are true then they are of utmost eternal importance to you. They are, quite literally, a matter of life or death. As our pastor said this weekend, "Don't sit on the sidelines--think deeply about life." 

I felt a need today to be honest about where my hope and my joy come from. Thank you so much for checking in. Please know that no matter where you are in life and what you believe- you are always welcome here. And if anything I have said has brought up questions for you I would be happy to talk, so feel free to shoot me an email. Also know that I have not always been so sure of these things, but Jesus pulled me out of some hard places in my life, and I  have been radically changed through knowing Him. If you are curious to hear about that than I would love to share that with you. Finally, no matter how you spent your weekend, I hope it was as lovely and relaxing as ours was! 

Love you all,

Emily