The Bunny

I am guilty of only exactly what I said I would be guilty of. A blip in the schedule. I was traveling, visiting L, her new munchkie, and Reese of course. L is doing well, and both of the babies are darling.  So, I'm home now and it's Easter. I was thinking about all of our past adventures with the Easter Bunny, which apparently Reese is now calling Bunny Easter. My first remembrances are from Grandma U's house. The "Bunny" visited in their back yard in Iowa City. It is a pretty hazy memory, I could have only been three or four, but I remember the big white garage out back, and the grown-ups sitting on the lawn furniture while we ran around. In NY I remember mom making 10 bajillion white frosting bunnies with pink eyes, and pointy ears for the chocolate Easter egg fundraiser the church did every year, and the Easter baskets she made for us. That darn bunny always hid the baskets first, so we had to find them before we could claim any of the eggs we saw lurking about in the process, but alas. The last one I remember as a kid was when we lived in Tully, in that big house on the cul de sac, with the cow mail box, and the pink door. The Hausers' had come over and Dad decided that the only way to keep the older kids from getting to all the eggs before the younger kids was to make them all hold hands oldest to youngest (about 10 kids total) and they had to hunt thus connected. The Easter bunny is a weird cultural tradition if you ask me. I would look up the origins of the little guy, but I'm too lazy. Maybe one of you can and enlighten us all with a comment about it.

On a more serious note, I went to church today. I couldn't help feeling overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude for the resurrection of our Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ.  One of my favorite scriptures is Alma 33:11. The prophet Zenos spoke these words as part of his testimony, stating gratitude that he could access a loving Heavenly Father, who, through the perfect sacrifice and resurrection of His son, was able to hear and answer his prayers with justice, forgiveness, and mercy. I know that Easter is more of a celebration of the risen Lord, but I can't help but think about the fact that He was able to break the chains of death, because of the sacrifice he made for each of us in atoning for our sins. Eternal life is ours only because He descended below all things to rise above them again, and be our Savior. God can be a just and forgiving God because of the sacrifice of His son. What this means to me is that not only can I have eternal life, but I can be with my family forever if I choose to. If I keep my covenants, repent, forgive, and continue to learn what God wants me to know about myself and His gospel I can have joy in my relationships with Him and my loved ones, always. I can't think of anything more important, or wonderful.

Happy Easter!