Easter Memories And Perspectives

As I pause to reflect on the significance of today (Good Friday), and this entire Easter weekend, I find myself not only thinking about the greatest event in human history, but also my own childhood memories of Easter. Memories rooted in traditions handed down through the generations that most of us still continue with our own children and grandchildren.

Most of my earliest memories of Easter revolve around my Mom selecting that perfect outfit to wear to services on Easter Sunday. As a young child, most of the time that meant some type of suit that consisted of short pants and as I grew older were made to look much like the suits my dad wore only in much brighter colors. One Easter I remember being so proud of this spiffy three piece suit, the coat was light blue and the pants and vest were made to coordinate. This was one of those suits that the vest was reversible, and it had two different colors of pants with it. I can still picture this wardrobe that came on one hanger.

However, the excitement I had with this awesome outfit quickly turned to tragedy that I will never forget. If you have ever gotten a new suit coat of any kind, you are aware that the manufacturers stitch labels to the sleeves. In my quest to hurry and put on these flashy new duds, I decided that I did not have time to wait on my mom to remove the tags. So slipping her scissors out of the sewing machine drawer I proceeded to remove them myself. Imagine how heartbroken I was when not only did I remove the tag, I also cut a nice hole in the sleeve of that brand new suit coat. As usual though Mama came to the rescue, and after a good scolding proceeded to take a needle and a thread and repair the coat in a way that if you had not known it had been cut, would have never seen. Easter was saved and I was still able to show off my fancy new clothes for all to see.

There are numerous other memories of Easter that I would be remiss not to mention. One of the most significant was my grandfather Daddy Queen, who almost without exception would always plant the bulk of his garden on Good Friday. He was a firm believer that God would bless those items planted on that day, and I never remember a significant crop failure ever on his farm. I also remember the row of bright yellow jonquils that grew parallel to that old farm house; they always seemed to be in bloom at Easter.

After services on Easter we always made the trek to my dad's parents and had dinner with the entire family. Afterwards Grandmother Stockburger had the best Easter egg hunts anywhere. These treasure hunts that actually started with the dyeing of the eggs the night before were the highlight of the week. Not only because of the volume of eggs hunted, but there was always that big prize egg that would contain cash that we all would feverishly hunt for. Every year it seemed that a different one of us would find the prize egg, but it never mattered because the hunts were enjoyable always. One trick I learned is that there was always at least one egg in the patch of red salvia beside her back porch, and I would always go there first.

It seems I could fill pages with just the memories of my youth at Easter, not the least of which include baskets filled with chocolate bunnies and other treats or the dyed chickens we received some years, but the story of Easter is what shapes our entire being and gives us hope.

Even before the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, God had a plan of redemption for mankind. On that dark Friday nearly two thousand years ago the God who created everything, allowed His own son, Jesus Christ, to be nailed to a criminals cross between two thieves. On this day that changed the world forever, the Son of God fulfilling thousands of years of prophecies carried the sins of every one of us to that lonely hill, and there died so that none of us would have to die in a sinful state if we would only accept our Heavenly Father's pardon and turn way from our sins.

As important as Christ dying on the cross was, thank God it did not end there. Because not only did He die for us, but through His death He conquered both hell and the grave and through His resurrection guaranteed us the right to live forever in God's presence if we believe and accept.

So as you think about today (Good Friday), remember that on this day that our Savior was nailed to a cross for our sins, He also arose from the grave on Easter Sunday as our King. May we all proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord of Lords and our King forever and be thankful for a cross, and an empty tomb, and a promise that one day we can forever live in His presence!