A Glad-Hearted Easter

By Guest Writer Lauri Lemke Thompson

            “Easter is the only time,” said Evan Esar, “when it’s perfectly safe to put all your eggs in one basket.”

We can all use a little humor about now, can’t we, after what we’ve gone through over the last year?

Remember last spring when some were expressing optimism that the pandemic would end quickly and we could all safely go back to church on Easter Sunday, 2020? Didn’t quite happen, did it?

             Many of you have endured serious illness and/or financial difficulties and you may still be recovering from one or both. And separation from family members has been rough. I feel for you. Others lost loved ones and I extend sympathy.

Spring in the Ozarks

Now it is spring in the Ozarks. I like what Martin Luther wrote: “Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf of springtime.”

May I encourage you to immerse yourself this year in those leaves of springtime? (Well, “immerse” with some caution if you’re like me and experience spring allergies! Ah-choo!) Allow yourself to notice the emerging leaves, budding flowers and chirping birds as they fashion their nests.

And even if your circumstances are not improving yet, may I direct you to what all those signs of spring symbolize – that is, the resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after His crucifixion? I believe that Christmas, Good Friday and Easter all send us a message from God Himself: “I love you, I love you, I love you.” That message echoes through the centuries. Listen. Do you hear it?

Far worse than Covid-19

One sickness that plagues all of us is far worse than Covid-19 or any mutation thereof, and it is called sin-sickness. It separates us from a holy God, but it has a cure, and Jesus created that cure when He gave His life on a cross for us. Just as our Covid patients had to be open to the appropriate treatments, be open to receiving His cure.

Next time you drive north from Branson on Highway 65, take a glance at the towering white cross with the blue teardrops and thank God for His supreme sacrifice when He conquered sin and death for us out of pure love.

Yes, this is a special time of year and I think most of you know it goes beyond the excited screams of children hunting Easter eggs and cute little bunny rabbits. It even goes beyond redbuds, dogwood and forsythia.

Take a walk outdoors

It is so easy to be caught up in the day-to-day, so I challenge you this spring to take a walk outdoors and let your mind drift to eternity.

Douglas Horton wrote: “At Easter the veil between time and eternity thins to gossamer.” (Gossamer is what tiny spiders spin and it is extremely fine, delicate and lovely). An old hymn’s lyrics read “Now I belong to Jesus, Jesus belongs to me, Not for the years of time alone, But for eternity.”

I wish for you what Charles Spurgeon described thus: “We will give way no more to doubts and fears, but we will say to one another, ‘He is risen indeed; therefore let our hearts be glad.’” And a very glad-hearted Easter to you!

Lauri Lemke Thompson is the author of a book called Hitting Pause, a collection of short articles.  A journalism graduate of The University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, Lauri retired from a career in Human Resources and Communications. She resides with her husband Tim in Branson West, Missouri where she volunteers at the hospital and is active in women’s Bible studies and Christian outreaches. She enjoys travel and photography.

A prior post from Lauri