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Often times in elementary school we would be told to bring an item from home. Mine was typically homemade because going out to buy things wasn’t happening. I remember one year we were told to bring an Easter basket. My mother is one of those crazy creative people that you see on pinterest. We had a bottle of bleach that was about to be emptied and that was the start of my homemade basket. She cut the top off and tossed it, then took jelly beans cut them in half and melted them to stick around the top of my freshly cut basket. The handle was made of fabric and honestly I don’t remember much else about it, but I do remember I loved that thing. My mother likes to correct me on this story because when we talk about it I say it was an Easter hat not a basket. I thought it was beautiful when it was done and before it was ever taken to the school I would proudly wear it on my head as an Easter bonnet. Yes, kids, I wore half a bleach bottle on my head and thought it was the greatest thing ever, be jealous! While everyone else would always have a store bought whatever, mine was almost always made at home from whatever we had available. From an early age I found that I didn’t have to do things the way everyone else did them or the way that was traditional in order for them to be good.

Today as I sat at my desk the Ray Boltz song, Watch the Lamb, came on my playlist. If you haven’t heard it or just want to hear it again you can watch the video by clicking here: Watch The Lamb by Ray Boltz. As I listened to the song tears filled my eyes as I thought of what my savior did for me all those years ago. If we actually take the time to stop and think on what happened all those years ago it brings tears to most of our eyes. It wasn’t a joyous moment, even all these years later it is difficult to think on. His resurrection was glorious, but you cannot have a resurrection without a death. To skip over His death skips over part of what He did for us. This year I’ve heard so many talking about easter egg hunts being canceled, not shopping with family for new outfits, or some other tradition that has been squashed. When I compare those things to the eternity His death and resurrection brought, they simply don’t matter. I understand traditions are important to us. Trust me I love my traditions, but the tomb is still empty! I know there are many people that believe we shouldn’t celebrate Easter or Christmas and I’m not here to convince anyone differently. For those that do celebrate though stop and ask yourself what are you celebrating this weekend? If it is truly the death and resurrection, then you still have cause to celebrate. Your celebration will probably look different than any other year, but it can still be a celebration. Different isn’t always a bad thing! This year instead of doing all the things you normally do, take time to do an extra devotion. Read through one of the accounts of the crucification just like you read about His birth on Christmas. Start a Bible study that focuses on the death, burial, and resurrection. Create a playlist that reminds you of what He did that day and listen to it on Sunday. My homemade basket as a child became on of my prized possessions that season. Let this Easter become your prized possession of this season.