He is Risen!

Happy Easter!
He is Risen!

I haven't always loved Easter...and as a child was many times quite indifferent about it. But in my adult life, I'm beginning to see it more as not only the Holy Day that it is in the Resurrection of Christ from the dead, but all that it can symbolize in our own lives in today's world! A re-birth...a refreshed spirit...a renewed belief in the power of Christ to work miracles within us. A stronger sense of faith. A reset button. A clean slate.

As a child, I remember praying the Rosary with the family, and my favorite "Mysteries" were on Wednesday and Sunday...the Glorious mysteries. More specifically, I loved the 1st: the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the 2nd: the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. I really wouldn't pay any attention to the words I was saying in the Hail Marys, but would imagine and daydream over and over again Jesus moving his hand from left to right in a dramatic slow wave and opening the tomb...then as the giant, circular stone rolled away slowly, beams and rays of light would burst from behind him. I also imagined he was suddenly very clean.
Then, a large pure white cloud would lower down from the sky and Jesus would step onto the cloud and slowly rise up toward the heavens. I would also imagine the people who were around watching, what they looked like, what they were wearing, and how they were waving and reacting.

Then, by the time I finished with my daydream...the Rosary was over. I always questioned (and sometimes had some guilt...sometimes not) whether or not my daydreaming counted as actually praying. Sometimes my daydreams scattered far beyond the realm of the actual subject matter of that "mystery"...(examples of daydream topics: boys, evening gowns I might wear to a prom or a ball someday, dance choreography for my sister Teresa and I's next performance for the family...either ballet, broadway, figure skating, or gymnastics...names I might name my children someday, etc...you get the point, sometimes it had nothing to do with the Rosary.)
But when it was about the Resurrection and the Ascension, the daydreams were about that...and now I feel like it totally counted!

Of course, as a child, another huge perk of Easter was the Easter Bunny's visit to drop off a grand amount of candy! I never did believe in the Easter Bunny, though. For some reason, I always thought of him as a grown man dressed in a bunny suit, which just seemed creepy to me...

Although this is NOT quite the image I always had in my head of the "easter bunny," I thought this photo was too hilarious not to post...considering my explanation of my childhood vision. (also, sadly, when I googled searched for a photo of a man in a bunny costume, I was a little horrified of all of the photos that came up of different men in differen bunny costumes...anyone else find that odd and a bit disturbing? Anyway...)

Have you every heard a song, or a poem, or seen a picture, or heard a speech or read a saying that completely and totally personified the way you feel about God, your faith, and your soul? For me, it is my favorite "God" song of all time... it was sung at my wedding by my sister Andrea, and every time I hear it I want to dance around my living room, or take a huge giant deep breath and exhale loudly...the kind of sigh that feels good to the core. It's called Word of God Speak...and here are some lyrics:

Word of God Speak,
Let it pour down like rain,
Washing my eyes to see,
Your Majesty,

To be still and know,
That You're in this place,
Please let me stay and rest,
In Your Holiness,
Word of God Speak

(Click here for a YouTube video to the song with a slide show of some photos.)

So, lets raise our glasses and toast to the many wonderful new beginnings that the Easter season brings...and to all the strange men dressed in adult bunny costumes. Hey, they need love too! Ha!
Cheers!