Peace and happiness
Easter has always been a time of family and renewal for me.
I have vivid memories of my childhood years at Easter, and remember the peace, the joy and the colors of spring and the season. I recall the color-dipped and hand-painted Easter eggs, along with the chocolate and other seasonal gifts of the time. It was a walk to church on a yet-nippy spring Sunday morning to listen to the music and words about a risen Lord and savior. It was a joyful time.
It was a time when spring was coming on strong, with flowering trees and plants that meant renewal. But most of all, it was about the family gathering, to sit down and enjoy an Easter meal of ham and delicious side dishes and dessert, and the fellowship of the family gathering.
Later in life, I recall my wife taking time, each year, to prepare the Easter baskets for our sons and the special preparations for the Easter meal, which all appreciated and enjoyed.
Fortunately, much of what I knew from the past for this time of the year survives as tradition and is celebrated by my family. Of all the memories I hold dear, this is one that will not be forgotten. My hope and prayer to you, dear reader, is that you have the peace, beauty and happiness of Easter throughout the year.
GEORGE WILKEN
Little Rock
Will glorify his name
The resurrection of Jesus Christ fulfilled Old Testament prophecy, established the defeat of death, and gave all people the assurance of everlasting life.
In Exodus, Moses asked God to give him a response when the Israelites question him about the God of their fathers. 'They will say to me, "'What is his name?' What shall I say to them?" God then said to Moses, "I am who I am," and, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I Am' has sent me to you."
In today's church and secular culture the concept of sin is almost forgotten. Yet that is the message of Easter, the Resurrection. Jesus, God's son, the great I Am, became sin on mankind's behalf. The great I Am became the payment for sin for all time: past, present, and future.
Jesus transcends all earthly titles, crowns, and time itself to be the Old Testament fulfillment of the Messiah. Jesus was the fulfillment of the Levitical system of blood sacrifice. He was the Old Testament lamb without blemish or spot. Through his shed blood and resurrection we have victory over sin and death.
"For this reason, I bow my knees before the father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power through his spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask of think, according to the power that works within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever." Amen.
What does Easter mean to me? Jesus, only Jesus. "I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify thy name forever."
JANICE HOUSLEY
Mabelvale
Priceless memories
I'm now in my 80s and will always remember being the baby of four rascals.
Our precious mother would start saving bantam eggs, which are much smaller than regular eggs. After we dyed them for our baskets, nothing could be more sweet and special.
Being the last of my siblings, I always remember those priceless memories with my little family on the farm.
Have a blessed Easter!
ELLEN DUFFEY
Sherwood
It made this possible
Here is something for Easter week readers to ponder: If it wasn't for Christmas, there would be no Easter.
JOHN FULLER CROSS
Eureka Springs
Or are you chicken?
As kids we used to find cute little pastel-colored chicks left by the Easter Bunny along with our usual Easter fare. What was missing, of course, was instructions on how to avoid their early and brutal death. Bed-sharing on Easter night or tucking them in a shoebox full of plastic Easter grass will guarantee you won't be greeted by a contented "peep, peep" the next morning. Believe me, the sight of a dead chick strangled on plastic grass or squashed nearly beyond recognition is not the way a little one needs to start out his or her week.
Vowing to stop the carnage, I took charge of sister Joan's chicks the next year and fixed them up with a nice cage, food, water and a 100-watt bulb to keep them toasty warm. The overnight survival rate increased exponentially.
They shortly outgrew the pen, were assigned to the backyard, and then the crowing began. This stuff about welcoming the sunrise is a bunch of bunk. They were welcoming 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m.--you get the picture. My dad, Bill Taylor of Democrat-Gazette fame, was up early anyway working for the paper and needed his sleep, so this did not bode well. By now I was considering tossing out some Easter grass and wondering why we didn't just send them on to bed with Joannie and be done with it.
My prior research included a chapter on "chicken catchin'," and in the dark of night we made a trip to their new home. Three swings and a toss later, they became the newest members of the flock at the Little Rock Zoo.
DERRELL A. TAYLOR
Little Rock
For a grateful heart
On the road to recovery following a recent heart attack, I have come to know the meaning of God's grace and, in so doing, the true meaning of Easter: the unconditional love God shows his children when he looks beyond the "stones" and sees the "diamonds in the rough"--and pays the ultimate price.
What Easter means to me is that I get to spend time with those I love that I didn't think I'd have. Moreover, were it not for God's unmerited favor, I would not be here to write this letter.
In short, what Easter means to me comes down to five words: cause for a grateful heart.
MIKE PAFUNDI
Sherwood
Editorial on 04/21/2019