I have a question?

Why is it when we think of Easter we think of....well CANDY? And the Easter Bunny, who brings us candy, and then there is the Easter Egg hunt, so we can get....um....candy. Hmmm candy :)

BUT [and here is the real question] When did we as a civilization, and I am speaking mainly to the Christian community, when did we stop thinking about this-
And get so tied up and excited about this-
And now it has gone to extremes. I was at the mall, the Saturday before Easter (yes bad idea I know) and it was crazy. Women buying hats and dresses and shoes...Men buying jewelry and chocolates and engraved baseball caps....Families standing in line for hours to take a picture with a rather scary Easter Bunny, and for what? To celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior? Even more startling is the welfare of poor chicks, ducks and bunnies that the pet stores sale to go in the Easter baskets of many, many children, just to be tossed out when they are not so cute anymore. I personally saw dyed chicks at the mall here in Texas...seriously who does that?

(For more information on these chicks click the Farm Sanctuary Link to the left.)

Now don't say I'm a grinch quite yet, I like candy as much as the next guy. In fact my favorite candy only comes around once a year-and it's Easter Candy!

And yet for some reason I have fought the urge to conform to this commercialized and materialistic holiday, and I have yet to buy the coveted Cadbury Mini Eggs.

I remember when Easter first became important to me. I was 12 years old, and my cousin was just killed in an automobile accident the weekend before Easter. It was a gruesome accident and the funeral is still quite ingrained in my head. I remember crying and crying, thinking that it just wasn't fair. I felt so bad for his family, who would miss him so much. And then I felt a sense of peace come over me, as the Spirit witnessed to me "He will be Resurrected." I stared to cry feeling so blessed that he would have passed so close to Easter. What a calming realization that although death is sad and horrible and unfair, we will meet again. We will rise again, we will be resurrected to a perfect body.

This testimony has been strengthened as I have had to face my own reality with death. I am not afraid of dying, I don't want to die, but I am not afraid. But best of all this crappy cancer deprived scarred body of mine will become perfect....and why-Because of EASTER.