Easter Thoughts

April 23, 2011: Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. I feel so blessed to give praise and honor to my Savior, Jesus Christ. He is my Light and my Sure Foundation. Without Him, I am nothing. Today, I was thinking about one of my favorite hymns, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives," and contemplating how my journey has brought new insights to the message it brings:

• "I know that my Redeemer lives..." - Through the blessings and miracles of the past few weeks, I have NO DOUBT that He lives. He has answered prayers. He has put His arms unfailing around me in my darkest hours. I have felt Him near. He lives.


• "What comfort this sweet sentence gives!..." - Oh, yes! Comfort. Peace. Even in the face of uncertainty and despair, the fact that He lives and loves me is a balm as warm as any ray of sunlight.


• "He lives, he lives who once was dead..." - As surely as the sun comes up in the morning, I know Jesus Christ conquered the tomb and rose from the dead in glory as a resurrected being. He lives, and I will kneel at His feet someday.


• "He lives, my everliving Head..." - As one of His disciples, I look to Him as an example of how to live a God-filled life. I try to follow His teachings. And when I fail, as I do almost every day, I know He has made it possible for me to repent and be forgiven. He is the King of Kings, Lord of Lords.


• "He lives to bless me with His love..." - I know I've been blessed immensely in my life, through good and bad days. I also know that this lifetime is a test to see how we will conduct ourselves. The Lord is my protector, my guide, my solace, my hope, and my friend. No one else will ever love me like He does.


• "He lives to plead for me above..." - I have a favorite quote hanging on my wall that says, "The Savior must grow weary of the foolish way I live. I want to give him just one day when there's nothing to forgive." In all my mistakes, in all my sins of omission and commission, in all the foolish regrets of my life, I know the Savior stands before my Heavenly Father and asks that I be forgiven and accepted. He is the Mediator, the one who will judge me by the good I've tried to do and the person I've tried to be. How grateful I am!


• "He lives, my hungry soul to feed..." - There is a yearning inside me to be closer to my Lord and Savior. In the weeks following my surgery, I wasn't able to take the Sacrament. I felt a hunger, a deep need to renew the covenants I made at baptism and in the Holy Temple. He feeds my soul. His Spirit fills me like nothing else can.


• "He lives to bless in time of need." - Sometimes late at night, when I can't sleep and the demons are chattering in my head, telling me I am doomed and have no chance at a normal life, I squeeze my eyes shut and say a prayer...and the calm comes like a warm, snuggly quilt. Other times, when I'm worried about this or that, whatever the need is at the moment, I hear the Savior's voice in my ears, telling me that it will all be okay. It may not be easy, it may not be joyful, but it will be okay. It really will. He knows, and I believe Him with all my heart.

I'm thankful for what I've learned thus far. I know my life lessons have not stopped - and I honestly wouldn't want them to. I know there are dark days, hard hours, and miserable minutes ahead. But, just when I think I'm about to crumble, the Spirit reminds me that I have an Elder Brother who suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane for me, so that He would always know how to succor me - RUN to my aid - whenever I called out for Him. And that's when my feeble brain starts to whisper, "Miracles and hope...please, oh Lord."

Happy Easter. May His Holy Spirit be a light in your life, too.