Thoughts on Easter

(I would like to start this out with a warning - blogger is NOT being nice and has erased all paragraphs. Sorry if it makes things confusing.) Did you think I had vanished from the blogging world? Me too for a while. Life had gone from sorta dull to over-busy. It seems as though I can't find any middle ground these days. At this moment I have completed the first draft of one major project and can sit back for a moment to heave a huge sigh of relief. Easter is one week away. I have always loved this time of the year, not only because of the re-awakening of life in the world, but because of what it has come to represent on the spiritual side. In my last post I sent you off to a link that shares my experience with losing my son when he was newly born. It was terribly difficult, one of the worst times of my life, but I wouldn't trade what I have learned from knowing that special spirit for anything. With every trial we are asked to endure, blessings equal to it are sure to follow. One of the most incredible blessings I have been given is a better understanding of how glorious the Atonement of Jesus Christ truly is. I treasure the opportunity to remember not only what Christ did for us, but the ways in which this single event more than two thousand years ago is still working to bless our lives. It has given me hope of holding my son in my arms once more, as he is promised to me so long as I strive to do what is right. Even incredible events such as this do a person no good if they do not strive to keep learning more. Insights and knowledge previously granted to us can be lost if we do not try to remember. I have found this blog to be a wonderful way to remember, a sort of journal I choose to share with others. About three or four years ago I worked in writing (rather bad writing, unfortunately) for a new site being formed called LDSBlogs.com. It had been put together with the goal to help those who are not of our faith understand what this church is all about through the eyes of it's members. As Easter approached I found myself with a great desire to post something about the Atonement, but didn't know what to focus on nor how it should be presented. Many prayers were devoted to knowing what our Father would have me write, and the answer came in an unexpected way. I was looking through a local bookstore, Deseret Book, where my eyes were continually brought back to one particular table. There sat three different books, all by the same author, Andrew Skinner. I'd never heard of him before, but knew without a doubt I needed to buy those books. So I did. And I thanked my Heavenly Father profusely for guiding me to them. Gethsemane, Golgotha, and The Garden Tomb opened my mind to new thoughts regarding the entire process of the Atonement, from the history of the Passover Feast right through the resurrection. I did a series of posts regarding what I'd read, and even reposted them here. As you go through this week I pray you'll take some time to read through the different links I'll post here, in the hopes that you too might be able to discover something you never knew before. Most of all I pray you'll help share with your family and friends what this Easter time truly stands for. It's so fun to hunt for eggs, receive baskets full of goodies, and think about a giant bunny making it all happen (unless it's Erin in a bunny costume - then it's just plain scary, lol). But it's not why we celebrate Easter. Easter is about the Savior, all that he gave up - and took upon himself - for us to live with him again in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father. It is about not needing to suffer the pain and guilt that comes with sin, but rather the opportunity to repent and be clean again. It is about breaking through the bands of death so that we will not be forced to spend all of eternity in those sins. May you all enjoy this blessed time. May you find hope in the atonement of our Lord. May you be kept safe and loved until we meet again. History of Passover Feast The Last Supper Gethsemane: A Sacred Place The Atonement: Christ Took on More than Our Sins The Betrayal and Trials of Christ Simon Carried the Cross Christ's Crucifixion, Last Words, and Death The Burial of Christ He is Risen!