Easter 2011.

I hate to admit it, but this Easter was a disappointment. Because of my mom's move to a retirement home, followed closely by the decision that she no longer drive, we were all stressed to the limit. Plus, we were still overwhelmed with the enormous task of clearing out her old apartment.

So when it came time to do the ol' egg dyeing and Easter baskets, we went through the motions, but it just wasn't the same.





On Easter morning, the kids (and Brett) found their baskets on the kitchen table.


Brett went GAGA for his alien (in lieu of a bunny)!

And I loved the flowers the Easter Bunny brought me!

After our Easter breakfast, we headed to Heritage for church. Upon arrival, we could see that Saturday night's winds had done some damage to our building.

Our steeple fell!

I've been working in the church A/V booth for eight or nine years now, and it's no surprise when things go wrong in the booth on Easter and Christmas. We've had random computer crashes, unexplained squawky mics, lights that decide not to shine, you name it. We chalk those goings-on as casualties of spiritual warfare and move on. So needless to say, when I saw that steeple on the ground, I had to think that maybe Satan had fired a warning shot.

My concerns were unfounded, and both services went well: We worshiped, we praised, we uplifted, celebrating the resurrection that changed the world. And I let myself think the hard part of the day had passed.

I was wrong.



The rest of the day, while it had its moments, turned out to be not as joyous as we would have liked. It ended up being less of a celebration of our Savior's triumph over death and more a reminder of how messed up our world is.

But even that is an Easter lesson all its own. Because Jesus died for us, we have hope of a life much, much greater than this one, an eternal life free from tears, quarrels and disappointments.