There have been 69 Easter Sunday mornings in my years here on earth. I don't remember many of them. The first 18 were growing up with parents, brothers, and sisters. Then there were 3 with just Jan and I. Then there were around 30 years of having and raising children. The last two time periods have obviously overlapped, however the last 18 Easter Sunday mornings have been back to Jan and I, witnessing God's faithfulness, in grown children, grandchildren, and even great grandchildren.
Change is exciting and scary. I hope for it. Yet at the same time I often try to avoid it. Thursday morning Mark helped me clean trash trees out of a heavy fencerow.
We hope the weather changes. Then we hope it doesn't. After a long dry spell, we had close to 2 inches of rain here in southern Iowa. Jim and Dean spent a wet morning welding stress cracks on a RoGator boom.
Before the showers we put in a seed test plot across from our house. We've been planting test plots for 40 years, watching yield, moisture, emergence, and standability. However I'm thinking this is the first one planted in March.
During the beginning of the Middle East conflict we had some April contracts hit, because of commodity markets initially following crude oil price increases. Often commodity prices react hard, up or down, to a change, and then settle back down to a pattern. The old timers would call that, "Sell the rumor, Buy the fact". This statement also often proves true when our president announces changes on social media.
Just after Easter in 2020, Rudy and his crew of ex-Amish young men, built our shop across the road. One Sunday that spring Jan and I invited Rudy and his wife to church and lunch afterwards. Rudy and Becca returned the favor this past week, inviting Jan and I to an Easter play at their church. Kudos to Moravia Nazarene Church using 95 cast members from their church to reenact that first Easter. The gentleman with his son in the picture helped Rudy build our shop. He also built our son Mike's shop last year.
An empty grave that first Easter Sunday morning changes everything for us today. We don't just hope, we have an absolute assurance of Heaven when our life on earth ends. Jan and I visited the grave below in 2019 near Jerusalem, Israel. Why do we think this may have been the very grave that first Easter? Because it's empty.
We've seen many changes over 69 years on earth. How many do I and you have left? That's not for us to know. However when it's time to meet my Savior after earth, I don't want Him asking me why I just assumed all my friends knew about and have accepted His gift accomplished that first Easter. So here's what I've prayed many years ago, and ask you to do as well if you haven't yet. SIN. Lord I've fallen short. LOVE. I know You love me. GRACE. I accept that You died for my wrongs. FAITH. I believe you arose from the grave that first Easter, and I surrender the rest of my days on earth to try my best to live for You. As many of you know, this prayer changes everything! Blessings my friends.
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