He Loves Us | An Easter Testimony

After Bruce's mom passed away, three and a half years ago, Easter took on new meaning for me. It has become a very special and sacred time of year that I look forward to celebrating, but not in the typical eggs and jelly beans sort of way. Last year, I decided to take on a new Easter tradition of celebrating the Holy Week. Starting on Palm Sunday, we have a short Easter devotional each night, leading up to Easter Sunday. One of the nights we attend Jesus the Christ, the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant, but other than that, the devotionals are short and sweet. We read a few verses of scripture or watch a short video clip each night to teach us about a different part of Christ's life, death and resurrection.

Tonight started out quite hectic. Swim lessons followed by Bruce and I each going for a run, followed by a thrown together dinner, followed by us trying to hurry the children into the living room for our nightly devotional. I had every intention of keeping it short so we could get the kiddos to bed and Bruce and I could enjoy a few moments to ourselves, but things did not go as planned. Our devotional was much more incredible than I could ever have imagined.

On the agenda for tonight was finishing the Finding Faith in Christ video that we had started to watch last night. Last night's clip was the miracles and parables of Christ's life, which meant tonight would cover Him suffering in the garden, being beaten, hung on the cross and ultimately, resurrected. The girls sat on the couch, watching the video intently. Bruce and I, on the other hand, were a little bit distracted and tried to hurry things along. When the video ended, I closed with a few quick remarks and asked  Beebs to say our family prayer. When she finished praying, her voice was shaky and she was a little bit teary. She climbed into Bruce's lap and started asking questions about the video. She started off wanting to know about the adulterous woman who was brought before Christ and He told her to "Go". Beebs was confused, thinking He had sent her out of his presence. We took the opportunity to explain that everyone makes mistakes and that Christ can forgive us and help us be better and that when He told the woman to "Go", He was telling her to go and live a better life, not go away because He didn't want her to be near Him.

It was a good little conversation and a great teaching moment, but then it got even better. Beebs started asking about the marks on Christ's hands and feet. She told us she wanted to see them so we talked about the Second Coming and that eventually, she will get to see them and she started to get teary. She told us she wanted to see Jesus now, and that she wants Him to bless her. I used this opportunity to explain the beauty of the Priesthood and that when Bruce gives her a blessing, it comes from Heavenly Father, but that wasn't what she wanted to hear. She kept going on about wanting to see the marks on Jesus's hands and feet, so I asked her why. She said she wanted to see them so she would know it was Jesus. I asked if she would know Him without seeing the marks and she said she didn't think so, so we asked her to close her eyes and imagine He was standing with her.

We asked her to describe Him...

Is He short or tall (tall)
Long hair or short (short)
Beard or no beard (beard)
What colour hair (brown)
What is He wearing (a white blessing dress)
Would He be frowning or smiling (smiling)
How would He make her feel (happy and she would feel the spirit)

Then we asked her what she would say to Him... she said she didn't know. So we asked what He would say to her, and without missing a beat, she said that Jesus would tell her "I love you". By this point, my tears were flowing freely. Then Beebs told us, she would tell Him that she loves Him too.

We finished by talking about how much He loves each of us, and that He would probably call her Beebs instead of by her given name, since that's what she is called by those who love her most. It truly was the sweetest, most tender conversation and even as I type it up, I can't help but tear up.

These are the moments, the ones that make motherhood 100% worth the heartache and tears, the rough times and bad days. There is truly no greater joy than sharing a spiritual moment with a young child. I am sure Beebs learned a little bit tonight, but I know I learned much more than she did.

The love I felt for Beebs as we engaged in this conversation about made my heart burst, and that is just a fraction of the love our Father in Heaven and our Saviour Jesus Christ feel for us. Jesus Christ did extraordinary things out of love. I absolutely believe with all my heart that when Beebs and Christ meet face to face, the very first thing He will do is tell her how much He loves her, and I am sure that is what He would tell each and every one of us. All that He did was done out of love... the miracles He performed, the parables He taught, His willingness to suffer for our sins, to be beaten and humiliated, to be crucified and ultimately to break the bands of death and be resurrected... all of this was done out of pure and unconditional love, for God the Father, and for us.

Our devotional tonight has lit a fire under me, and given me the desire to "Go" and be better, to be a more righteous daughter of God, a more loving wife and mother, a better follower of Christ, because I know that He loves me. And I love Him.