Because of Easter

I'm not afraid of death. I'm thankful for every day I have here. I'm blessed with beautiful children and an amazing husband.  I do not have to make those figurative and literal sacrifices.  I am alive and will forever be alive.

I guess this Easter is a little special to me.  I started to write this about my faith, then - I started to think about Heaven.  I don't often think about it because - the truth is.... it is an unanswerable question.  What does Heaven look like?  What will Heaven be like?  I don't know.  I know that many people are spiritual, but not religious. Or that people have different religions than I do, but the truth is - faith is a powerful thing.  My faith tells me that Jesus was the son of God.  My faith tells me that Jesus died a divine death - for me.  My faith tells me that death is not an end, but a beginning because of his suffering for my sins.  My faith tells me that even though I am not perfect - I will go to Heaven because I have this faith.

This is not to say that my faith has never wavered. It has.  As recently as this past year, I have wrestled with God's plan for my family.  God's will for us.  Why God would make my child suffer?  I can say that those feelings have passed and happiness fills my heart.

This year, my children will come out tomorrow morning and open Easter baskets that look like this:

But this is not the meaning of Easter.

Today we have spent the day coloring eggs and spending time with our family... But that is not the meaning of Easter.

In my heart, I've always known the real meaning of Easter. The celebration of God's resurrection and our life eternal.  But.... last night I put my sweet baby down for bed.  He was so precious, my heart melted as I looked at him.  I couldn't help but go grab my camera to take a picture and pray that I captured my love for him in this picture.

Sweet.  Innocent.  Beautiful.  Because of Easter, we will all rejoice in Heaven.  Alexander will run and play.  Alexander will tell me all that is on his mind.  Alexander will eat chicken and pizza and ice cream.  I do not believe 4P- exists in Heaven.

Don't you see, I have the best of both worlds?  This innocent boy that God gave us to bless us here on Earth, and his healed body that we can all see in Heaven.  Because of Easter. 

Jesus, I thank you, from the bottom of my heart.  Your suffering means that my son's suffering will not be eternal. Because of Easter...