“You saved my heart from being broken apart. You gave your love away, and I’m thankful every day for the gift.” These words sung by Jim Brickman and Martina McBride in the song, “The Gift,” really capture how I have been feeling this Easter. Thankful. I know, many may think, “Thanksgiving?…It’s Easter! It’s time for bunnies, butterflies, eggs, and blooming flowers.” I know and appreciate all that comes with the season, but I can’t help but reflect on the precious gifts in my life right now and how very, very thankful I am for each of them.
The grandest gift I am thankful for this Easter is my salvation. I am a Christian and strongly believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to save me. I can’t even wrap my head or heart around the passion and love that I believe God has for us by giving us Jesus. Not only did he give us Jesus, but I also believe God gave us Jesus’s death and resurrection so that we could spend eternity with him. The fact that I am feeling extremely thankful for this gift around Easter is probably not all that surprising. After all, that is what Easter really is all about. The aforementioned spring time occurrences and celebrations are all beautiful and fun, but at the end of the day, Easter is about Jesus’s death and resurrection, for which I am abundantly thankful!
The second gift I am thankful for this Easter is one my husband, Greg, just gave me. He’s really good at giving flowers, candy, awesome dinners, and even the occasional vacation, piece of jewelry, or nice piece of furniture I’ve been eyeing. However, this year he topped himself. He gave me the next year (at least) to be home with my son, Nathaniel, full-time. Without his support, both financially and otherwise, I would never be able to do this, and I am truly thankful. Every day I wake up and spend long mornings with Nathaniel filled with cuddles and butterfly kisses, read him a book before putting him down for his naps, watch him meet milestones, pray with him, sing to him, take him to the park and to playdates. I really feel like the luckiest woman in the world to be able to share all of this with him. So, in case I haven’t said it lately, Greg, “THANK YOU!”
Finally, I am thankful for my son, Nathaniel. Mostly, I have God to thank for him, but it’s another one of those things that couldn’t have happened without some cooperation from Greg, so I guess I should thank him, too. Nathaniel was born in the spring, and on May 10, 2013, he will be celebrating his first birthday. This past year, he has shown me how to love greater, made me strengthen my relationship with God, and he is a constant reminder of all the awe and wonder in the world. For the joy and happiness he has brought to me, thank you God and Greg for Nathaniel!
In ending this post, I have to say that I will be partaking in many of the fun and traditional aspects of Easter. We will go to the Easter Vigil mass, make cajun potato salad and oreo balls, and make butterfly magnets and participate in an Easter egg hunt with the kids in our families. Hopefully, though, the true meaning of Easter, and all the precious gifts that can’t be bought or eaten, will permeate in my mind and my heart throughout all of our Easter activities and celebrations.
What a sweet, sweet post. This is, after all, what life is all about. Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the stress of mothering young, demanding children, but I think we will look back on this season and say “those were the days” … so I try not to wish it away.
Thank you Ashley….you know you are soooo right. We had a rough night with Nathaniel last night, but this morning all I could think of was how one day he won’t need his mommy and daddy, and I was glad to be up and holding him and attempting to soothe him all night.
Amber- I’m totally jealous of your son’s HAIR! I have a lil one too who was born May 17th & he barely has a comb over! lol
Thank you! He’s got a head full of crazy hair just like his momma!
I love this post! It’s a nice reminder that Jesus is always the reason for the season! How does Nathaniel do with mass? Jude gives us quite a run for our money every Sunday.
Do y’all have a nursery? At our Church, kids stay until the children’s message and then largely go to nursery / Sunday school. T is pretty good for the first 15 minutes through the message but after that he usually falls apart – ha ha! Now with Hadley we keep her with us, but I am worried about that now that she doesn’t nap consistently in the carrier.
Our church does Ashley….I was just telling Greg that we needed to check it out, just in case we felt we needed to use it in the future.
Thank you Angelina! He does ok with mass. Sometimes we have to go to the cry room for a minute, but we haven’t had to stay in there. Although, I will say, we haven’t made it to mass since he started crawling, so this weekend we’ll see how it goes.
Ashley and Amber,
Do y’all attend Catholic churches? I had a friend asking today if there were any Catholic churches in New Orleans with nurseries during mass, and I thought y’all had said something along those lines.
I loved this. I know people say that the true meaning of Christmas has been forgotten, and I feel the same way about Easter. Nathaniel is adorable!
Thank you Sarah! Writing this actually helped me to remember. Hope it inspires others, too.