Happy Easter!! :)

It's a wonderful holiday, isn't it? Although, it's been a long time since the real meaning of Easter has given my soul any sense of wonder...I mean, when I was a child, I listened intently to the story of Jesus and the cross and the rolled away stone on Easter morning, and I truly sensed that it was a miracle. But my world today, my life, is so focused on other things and is so used to hearing the story that I've forgotten to listen.

Last week I had communion for the first time in a long time...We've been talking a lot about the Eucharist in my church history class this semester, and last Sunday I realized something. I walked up to receive the bread and the cup and found Christ- his body and blood which was given for me. And I thought of all the people throughout history who, for some reason held by the Church, have been denied one or both of the elements...But the bread and wine are not ours to give, for Christ himself says, "Take and eat, this is my body...this is my blood..." It is Christ who invites us to partake.

And I felt blessed... There I sat, just accepting his GRACE because HE has asked me to come...

What's strange about Easter-aside from the overwhelming amount of pink bunnies, obssession with eggs, and plastic "grass" that ends up ALL over your house- is that Jesus still bears the scars. His life is fully restored, yet he holds out his wounded flesh, and again he invites us to "take" hold, to touch the body of Christ.

So maybe the real meaning of Easter HAS touched me this year. :)