For the first time ever, there were no Easter baskets at my house today. There will be no celebratory meal either. I didn’t buy a special dress. Before the dawn, I dressed in blue jeans and a sweat shirt, grabbed a coat, chairs, and blankets and headed for the hills. As we climbed, the full moon was ahead of us, sinking behind black mountains under a gray sky. On the ridge, we arrived just in time for the sky to begin its slow subtle glow, as if someone was turning up a dimmer switch. Bundled in blankets, we sat. I read about the resurrection, and then closed the book to soak it in. Silence. Stillness. Not things I am accustomed to on Easter morning. The wind picked up, and the 36 degree morning felt even colder. I made a cocoon out of my quilt as the sky lightened pink. Then, in the quiet, the sun made its appearance…an orange crescent slipping just above the mountain skyline. Slowly, the ball of fire grew and the sky welcomed it with cotton candy and tangerines. The wind applauded. The grass trembled. The trees danced. I sat in the stillness and listened for his whisper, and in the wind it came…

My Dear Cherished One,

This is the day that represents the glorious moment I breathed my first breath, again. This is the day death died so that you could become my betrothed. It is the day of your birth as my beloved. I celebrate this day with singing. My heart trembles as I think of all this day means for us. It is our day of promise. Our day to sit and be. Together. It was the first time the possibility of together-forever existed. There was much fanfare when I arrived on the Friday, and then silence in the garden on Sunday. Only the birds welcomed me back. In the heavens of course there was jubilation, but on the Earth not so much. In their grief they did not believe the women. In their sorrow they missed me, even when I was standing right beside them. But that is past history now, remembered, but no longer reality.

In this moment, I am here. In the sunrise, I speak. Can you SEE me my beloved? Can you feel my presence longing to be with you? In the calmness I still rise and rescue. My heart’s desire is YOU. There is none other that makes my heart sing like you do. I would die for you…I DID die for you. My love knows no boundaries. It goes beyond the depth of the sea. It is higher than any mountain. It is outside time and space. It is your very breath…and mine. Rest in this. No need to strive, or perform, or busy yourself. Come be with me. Listen to the bird song. Hear how they join together to lift their voices to the sun. Hear how they know the ebb and flow of the dawn. Hear how they all know when to be silent and listen to the wind. Today is the celebration of Resurrection Day, but in truth every day is the day of resurrection. Every day is one day closer to the promise. Sit. Wait. Rest. Know. You are mine, bought with a price that I would pay a million times over. Never doubt that, my love. You are worth every drop of my blood. Rise and greet this day, and every day, with the truth of that written upon your heart in gladness. What was done cannot be undone…ever. You are safe. You are free. You are with me and I with you…bonded by blood, covered by grace, empowered by love. Selah.

And with that, the birds began a worship chorus, and just as he said, they followed the dawn in their abandonment to the song of the wind. The melody of the songbirds so sweet that, at times, the wind stopped to listen. They were in unison, directed by the sun. And as it rose above the mountains, the resurrection was celebrated among those who stopped long enough to listen to the joyous refrains echoing through the valley. He is risen! He is risen!