I love Easter and the hope that is celebrated. I love the colors of spring worn by the congregation…women in their new dresses, men with new ties, children with their fancy Easter baskets, ready for the egg hung after church. Families come together for this special day of  celebrating our Lord’s resurrection. Lots of laughter. Lots of love.

Our church has begun what I hope to be a new tradition of “blooming the cross”. At the front of the sanctuary stood a cross covered in palm leaves. These leaves were the ones used to celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem before his death…Palm Sunday. It is the reminder of the hope that the people had for Jesus as the Messiah, the hope that was dashed by his death on the cross. They did not understand his death. Their hope for something better was destroyed.

But they had not yet experienced the rest of the story as we have. For we know that on the third day after his death, Jesus rose from the grave. The grave could not contain him. Death could not hold him. He is alive now and forevermore. 

And therein lies the hope we have. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have life. Real life…a better life here on earth, and a life to come in the presence of God, experiencing Him fully in all His glory. 

As we all sang the song, Lord I Life Your Name on High, the church filed up to the front of the sanctuary and placed flowers upon the empty cross. This act is such a powerful picture of the beauty of Jesus’ sacrifice.   When we placed our flowers on the cross, we show we are placing our life in God’s hands and accepting Jesus’s sacrifice. Yes, the cross is an ugly reminder of His death, yet when we accept that sacrifice…when we give up our own life, that cross becomes a gorgeous portrayal of the true life He brings. 

My family…missing my daughter and her fiance.

The bloom of the cross is the victory of Easter. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate.

What was special about your Easter this year?