Believe it or not, this has been my hardest “grief milestone” to date. Easter. In its commercialized sense, it is a holiday filled with candy and egg dyeing and a big bunny mascot. These things are not bad, by any means…they were all part of my childhood and I think they are fine family traditions. But they are, in the end, inconsequential. As a Christian…Easter is so much more. It is the time we most publically reflect on the persecution, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. It is a time we recognize what He did for us on the cross, and we repent of our sins as we try to comprehend what it means that He provided a pathway for us – mortal sinners – to get to Heaven.
Do you see where this is going?
He paved my pathway to Heaven.
He did not promise the road would be easy – for anyone. There are potholes and wrong turns and dead ends, no doubt. But He has promised the final destination will be worth it.
This first Easter without Emmy was a hard one. But like every grief milestone, it taught me a lot about myself…and about my faith.
Death has separated me from my daughter in this life. But God has promised us so much more than life on Earth. Through Him, we are offered eternal life. And through Him...through His GRACE…death will not separate me from my daughter. God gave his Son that I may be with my daughter in eternity. That sacrifice is clearer to me now than it has ever been.
So late last night, while I prepared Lexi’s Easter basket, stuffing it full of things I know she loves – I also took some time to reflect. On God. On the Cross. And on what HIS blood bought for me – a life eternal – a life with Emmy.
In His Grace,
Jen