Happy Easter–He Has Risen!
This is Ron with your Motivational Message:
Memories of Easter egg hunts, spring chicks, and tulips flood my mind as I recall Easters of the past. One particular Easter stands out from the rest. That morning my dad woke me up at sunrise to take a hike to the top of a nearby hill where a few rugged crosses stood. He told me many people had made the trek just to witness the sign of Christ. I murmured under my breath, “I won’t be one of them; this is too early for me.”
Exhausted from the climb, we sat on two rocks and gazed across the eastern sky; it was a powerful and breathtaking moment. As the sun moved through the sky, the shadows cast by the crosses moved across the two of us. I must say, without ever experiencing the Gotha in Israel where Christ actually died, this was intense. Another gentleman who had accompanied us closed our time by reading a portion of the Bible that spoke of Jesus’ resurrection. “He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.” Matthew 28:6
I recalled the pastor once saying, “We still have an empty tomb and either Christ was a liar, lunatic, or He was the risen Lord.” My faith was restored and I, now as a quadriplegic, look forward to my own new body in Heaven.
A new life, for the most part, is greatly celebrated: babies, buds on trees, hatching chicks, wobbly new calves, spring flowers. They all energize me at this time of year, even more so with the early spring that we are having here in Oregon. I wonder, as we celebrate the resurrection of Christ and new life, that we could focus on the future and put the past behind us. Take a breath of fresh air and the excitement it brings.
Face tomorrow without regrets. As the pain and the sorrow may have lasted through the night, the joy came in the morning. Let’s rise up and take our new day with youthful courage, vitality and a fresh perspective. I hope you enjoyed the spring chick I painted as well as the three wooden crosses. May you and your family have a most glorious Easter.
To your inspiration,
Ron