Easter. That time that we anticipate as children, as spring opens up and blossoms around us. The days start to warm under the sun, and the grass begins to look like a thin green carpet at our feet. We take notice of birds chirping in the trees, and dandelions as they begin to pop up with their vivid yellow blooms. Spring is a renewal of hope and a sign of things to come.
When I was a little girl, I remember our big front yard and the century old oak tree centered upon the lawn, spreading her branches over us to give shade. Her lower branch embraced a weathered, prickly rope and an old rubber tire. Our swing was wonderful. If you grew tired of swinging, you could push down with your toes and twirl around in the tire until you felt the rope tighten....then...let go. Spinning....spinning....round and round...
It was this same old tire swing that was the perfect hiding place for colorful easter eggs on a light windy Easter afternoon. Cinder blocks full of dirt, tufts of weeds and dandelions, and even the flowerbed filled with petunias and rooster combs....were the perfect hiding places for the vinegar smelling eggs. I remember it well. Especially the egg that got away. As a little girl, I wanted to try and find the most clever of all hiding places. My turn to hide...and I hit all the usual spots in the front yard....but there was one idea. The back bumper on the car. Yes. I did indeed hide an egg in our old car's back metal bumper...and I did indeed forget where I hid that unfound egg. No worries though, on a day a month later the egg was causing quite a stink in the car....and finally on a quick stop to park it rolled out of the bumper onto the carport with a sulfuric splat. I did not claim that egg....but instead looked up to the sky like I was so very interested in some nonexistant bird flying overhead. But, of course, I was the known culprit. It seemed a very...."Tammy" thing to do.
One thing stands the test of time, even if that smelly egg didn't, is what Easter represents to me and my family. More than a renewal of hope, Easter is about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We were given the gift of hope, and that gift is eternal. We live, we breathe, we face obstacles, we struggle with circumstances, we hurt, we cry, we laugh, we find joy. Everything around us gives us opportunities to strengthen our awareness to humanity, to build stamina in our faith. We are given forgiveness and we are also able to forgive. Through the Resurrection, we are part of the world's gift of the plan of salvation. We are given so much, for a man who gave up all. For a man that suffered all.
This Easter, I give my love to all of you out there that have impacted my life, whether long time high school friends, friends along my life journey, my family and children. I hope that along life's ride, I have somehow touched you, or made a difference. Happy Easter, and if you feel a need to run away with an egg. Do it. It will be found. Just like we are found. Jesus never loses us.
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