This is Easter

*This post got over 80K shares when I first published it on another blog. I thought I would share it today in the spirit of gratitude. 

Last night I had the sweetest conversation with the grocery clerk who was bagging my groceries.

Funny, I had never seen him before.

At first glance he might have been a college age surfer juggling a part-time job, but the terse movements of his arms and the deep lines in his tanned forehead suggested a seriousness about his years. And when I smiled at him I recognized the hardened face of someone who had been struggling for a while, so I couldn’t read his age when I asked if he had any plans for Easter.

But that was the magic question. The prodding that gave me an instant peek into his heart because his appearance immediately changed. His no-nonsense, working-for-a-living expression softened, his eyes turned misty and with a shy smile he told me he’d have to be up early to hide the Easter eggs.

“Oh you’ve got little ones?” I cooed. Because there’s nothing that melts my heart more than the idea of chubby little fingers wrapped tightly around an Easter basket. With all those high pitched squeals and wild romps through the damp grass in search of those bright, rainbow-colored eggs.

Ah, Easter eggs, the gems of childhood innocence.

The young grocery man told me he’d just moved his family from the South area in search of a steady job and he was relieved when he got hired at this store. He’d be getting health benefits soon and he was promised more hours. Recently, he’d gone in to ask his manager for the holiday off and was informed that it was against company policy to ask, but when the schedule came out she’d given him Easter off with his young family.

The whole day, so he was pleased. Yeah, things were looking up, he said.

As he transferred the bags from the grocery cart into my car, I asked him about his girls. A one year old and a seven year old. All ready for Easter with their brand new bonnets and spring-colored dresses. He’d gone out that very afternoon to buy them with his wife.

“It’s the one year old’s first Easter.” he announced, shaking his head with a smile. “That’s the exciting thing.”

And I smiled back, because I remembered the gloriousness of a one year old so well, even though it had been a long time.

This is what I love about Easter; this is what the life and death of Jesus gave us.

Easter is a day that offers us the promise of hope and new beginnings no matter what our stage of life. 

And Hope is a powerful thing.

It can save us.

Wishing you the comfort of hope and faith
today and always,
Leslie