Spring (and Sunday) is on the way!

So after some warmer weather today, Ken and I noticed these buds on our tree.  We are hopeful that this year we will have a blast of those white blossoms in a few weeks.  Last year, sadly, the tree did not fully bloom.  We treated it (for some kind of fungus) last year in the hope that it would stay healthy and happy this year.  So fingers crossed, there will be pictures in the future!  Spring is on its way! And so is Sunday!  Yes, I am looking forward to Easter.

It seemed like no matter where we drove today there was an Easter Egg Hunt.  As I was sitting in the car waiting for Ken to take some pictures at the Morton Arboretum, I got to thinking about this.  The first thing that came into my mind was the dream that is really the beginning of my testimony.  The dream happened when I was around 4 years old.  I was walking with Jesus in an amazing garden with beautiful flowers and trees.  Jesus was telling me all about who he was and what he had done for all of us on the cross.  He looked right in my eyes and told me "Easter is not about candy and the bunny, it is about ME and the new life that anyone who believes in me will have".  He went on to tell me that I should tell everyone about this!  I should share what Easter is really all about.

To say that this changed my life is an understatement.  I am not sure that I have yet to do what Jesus asked me to do!  I have not told everyone about this.  As a matter of fact, I would tell you that I don't feel like I am "called" to evangelism.  I have only begun to understand that what I heard in that dream is exactly the point of the Gospel message.  We are ALL charged with this task.... with the duty...to share the good news of Jesus and what he accomplished on the cross.  It is so easy to fall into the trap of believing that it is someone else's job to do the "telling".  And satan just loves to keep us in this place of keeping our mouths shut!  So not only do we not tell EVERYONE, we don't tell ANYONE! And it really doesn't matter if we think that we don't really have anyone we could tell.  The truth is we have more opportunities than we realize to spread the good news.

A long time ago, I was challenged to start every day with a prayer asking the Holy Spirit to put someone in my path that I could tell about Jesus.  I thought it was just a silly thing to do.  But I remember how surprised I was that this actually started happening!  I don't know why I stopped doing this.......But I plan to begin this again.  Starting tomorrow.  Will you join me?  And I would love to hear from you about some of those "God-incidents" that begin to happen and how you shared this story.

Yes, I think this is the wonder and the hope of Easter.  It is the anticipation of the JOY and the MIRACLE of this story.  So, for tonight I am going to rest in the memory of my dream from so long ago.  And I will begin my Easter tomorrow, with a prayer asking for a chance to share!

Jesus, thank you for reaching me in a dream even when I was just a little child.  Thank you for walking and talking with me and for looking in my eyes and holding my hand.  Holy Spirit, keep bringing us all the encounters with people that can change their life.  Thank you for springtime and the promise of flowers and buds on trees bursting forth and for Easter.  Amen