Hope of Easter

I can't think of a better word to describe Easter than Hope.

I love that we heard in the sermon this weekend that hope is different than optimism.  Optimism would say "it is not that bad".  Hope says sometimes it IS that bad, but the death and resurrection of Jesus means it won't ALWAYS be this way.  I love the bold authenticity of that statement.   

There is not much more that I want for my children and for my niece and nephews than that they will claim that same hope. 

I pray they will all look back on times that were confusing, that we simply couldn't explain to them, that we wished were different and see the glimmers of HOPE that penetrated every day. 

I hope they believe, like RRL and I do, that someday Christ WILL come to take us home and we will experience SUNDAY to the fullest.  But I also pray that they see Sunday moments along the way.  That they experience HOPE everyday. 

And a Sunday moment for me was definitely getting to celebrate Easter with this little crew.  It wasn't easy, but there were amazing glimpses of Christ's presence and power in the situation as we spent a few days with our nephews and niece.

It was filled with HOPE.

ABL