Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life. (S.D. Gordon)

happy easter, everyone!

in lieu of posting a picture of the resurrection we have all seen a hundred times (not that they aren't beautiful or meaningful) i chose instead to post this painting--"doubting thomas" by caravaggio. i love this painting. (see John 20:24-29.) thomas was an apostle who refused to believe without direct, physical evidence that it was, in fact, Christ as a resurrected being.

"...blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29)

i have not seen--not with my physical eyes--and yet i believe. many would put me down for this. tell me that i am a fool. but in my heart i believe, i feel it, and i am so thankful for my testimony of Christ and His resurrection.

"There is not room for Death,
Nor atom that his might could render void:
Thou - Thou art Being and Breath,
And what Thou art may never be destroyed."
~Emily Bronte

my Savior gave His life for me. for me, and for you. for my children. for my family. for people on the other side of the world that i will never know--past and present, and future. easter is so much more than a celebration of Christ's resurrection--but one of our own resurrection, as well. philip brooks puts it beautifully: "Let every man and woman count himself immortal. Let him catch the revelation of Jesus in his resurrection. Let him say not merely, 'Christ is risen,' but 'I shall rise.' "

let's all remember as we are stuffing ourselves with reese's eggs, chocolate bunnies, and jelly beans, that the beauty of easter is sacrifice and joy, a new beginning, the sprouting flowers amidst the frozen snow.

"The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances." ~Robert Flatt

and with the joy of easter---comes the joy of chocolate.

i hope you all have a fantastic day, hopefully spent with your friends and family.

happy easter!

tomorrow is easter.

i know that for a lot of survivors of child abuse, holidays can be really bad. full of triggers, and hard to deal with.

i am so lucky in the fact that i don't have that. i don't really remember any abuse taking place on a holiday, although i guarantee that most of those holidays (at least before the age of 10) were spent in the company of my extended family, and therefore my abuser. holidays are a fun thing for me, not a day full offlashbacks and triggers. for those of you who have a hard time with holidays....i'm sorry. i wish i could take it all away from you.

yesterday we went to my in-laws to dye hard boiled eggs. today we will be doing little buddy's easter with his basket and egg hunt once hubby gets home from work because tomorrow we will be going to my parents' for dinner.

even though it's fun to dye eggs, and fill them with candy, and go for easter egg hunts is so fun, it's important (at least to me) to remember why we have easter. on easter, Jesus Christ was resurrected, rising from the dead to overcome mortality. i believe that this really happened.

from the first presidency's easter message (of the LDS chuch):

At this Easter season of hope and renewal we testify of the glorious reality of the atonement and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The empty tomb brought comforting assurance and provided the answer to the question of Job, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14).

Because of the Savior’s resurrection we will overcome death and become the beneficiaries of His mercy and grace. In a world of trouble and uncertainty, His peace fills our hearts and eases our minds. Jesus is in very deed “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

We give our sure witness that Jesus is the Christ. Though He was crucified, He rose triumphant from the tomb to our everlasting blessing and benefit. To each member of the human family He stands as our Advocate, our Savior, and our Friend.