worst easter ever

When I was about 6 or 7 years old my parents set up an Easter Egg Hunt in our house on Easter morning.  This was a tradition at our home and one we looked forward to.  I was so excited to
A) beat my siblings by getting more eggs
B) eat candy till I felt sick
So when we woke up, I rushed downstairs to eat breakfast quickly and then get my egg hunt on.  Once my parents said go, we raced around the house looking for eggs, shoving them in our baskets and then heading for the living room where we could count our winnings.

But as I sat down to count I noticed the eggs were making more noise than normal; which I thought was odd, a rattling noise.  I opened the first egg to find one single penny.  I opened another egg, another penny.  I opened egg after egg after egg and all I found were pennies.  I looked up at my father, who was holding the family video camera, and said "Pennies!?!?  This is the worst Easter ever!"
 
In truth, sometimes this feels like the worst Easter ever.  We wont' have our normal church services with all our church family and many guests.  We won't get to dress our kids up in cute outfits or see some of our ladies wear special hats.  We won't get to gather together with family around a big table full of food and we won't get to participate in egg hunts and other special Easter traditions.  In fact, it hardly feels like Easter at all.
 
And yet, the grave is still empty.   The stone is still rolled away.  Jesus is still alive and we still have hope.
Christians are Easter people.  We are resurrection people.  We are people who have learned (sometimes the hard way) that we should never give up because God is always in control no matter how dark the night may be.  

It's still Easter because Jesus is still King!
 

In Christ,
Pastor Scott