He is Not Here, for He is Risen!

I love Easter more than any other holiday because I love its meaning and the way it fills my heart with gratitude for my Savior and the wonderful blessed life I live. Everything I have I owe to Him and his gracious sacrifice. I know he lives and I know the peace He gives.

If there is anything I wish for in this life, it is to share that knowledge with my children and lead them to find the truth for themselves. I wanted to do something a little different this year for Easter. I usually get them a little treat or a little toy just to help them enjoy the season, but this year I wanted it to mean something. I set out Friday afternoon to find a gift that might signify Easter's beauty more than a stuffed bunny or giant chocolate egg. I had nothing in particular in mind but as I drove past T.J. Maxx, I had the idea of getting them each a special box (instead of an Easter basket) to place their most important belongings. I called my sister to ask what special gift I could place inside of each box. She answered, "Nothing, remember the tomb was empty." Perfect!

This morning I printed each child this wallet size photo of the resurrected Christ and on the back wrote, "He is not here, for he is risen." Brian and I brought them into our bedroom and we all sat in a giant circle on the floor. I placed each of their boxes before them and told them that they had to wait until the right moment to open the special gift. We have been studying the New Testament as a family, specifically the life of Christ. It worked out perfectly that Friday night we read the account of the Christ's trials before the Sanhedrin and Pilate. Today we sat together and read about the soldiers mocking Christ, his suffering on the cross, his death and then his burial. At this moment, we had the kids open their boxes and I watched their faces as they saw their special gift. Brian asked, "What did you find in there?" Giselle & Diamond were especially disappointed as they both cried out, "There's nothing in there!" The older kids took out the pictures of Christ and said, "I get it! The tomb was empty because Christ was resurrected."

We finished the story and I explained that sometimes the greatest gifts are not the things we think we want like Legos (which Diamond was hoping for) that get lost, or candy (which Giselle was hoping for) which tastes good but isn't good for you. In fact, the greatest gift we have in life is not something we can touch nor see, but it is something far more powerful that gives us strength in our darkest moments. It was a beautiful Easter and the children connected well with it. They love their boxes and have already filled them with their most prized possessions (Diamond put his crayons in his box). Sophia cut out a heart and glued it on the lid next to the picture of Christ. "Mom," she told me, "I did that because I love Jesus and he reminds me to love other people." I guess even she now knows why Easter is the greatest of all the holidays!