Hallelujah!

"After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightening, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples; 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.' Now I have told you.'" Matthew 28: 1-7

Those verses were nothing more to me than words on paper until a little over eight years ago when I met Jesus Christ in a small prayer room at my church. I had grown up in the church, but it wasn't until a cold and rainy Monday afternoon in late September 1999, that my head knowledge concerning Jesus became heart knowledge. On that day, my life was changed in a dramatic moment when I gave my life, my heart and my soul over to the saving grace of Jesus. I was, quite literally, at the end of my rope ... a single mother raising three children, working full-time, living 700 miles away from my family, depressed, financially strapped, living a double life, ready to throw in the towel. And then, I met Jesus in a real and life-changing way. He met me where I was, in the midst of my sin and my despair, and He loved me, rescued me and saved me.

Easter has a whole new meaning to me now than it did before that Monday afternoon. The celebration of Jesus conquering the bonds of death now means hope to me, life to me, joy to me. The words of the angel at the tomb mean the promise of heaven and eternal life with my Savior after my life on this earth is complete. Life still gets hard at times, and the older I get, the more I realize that my only hope, my only help, my only salvation is in Jesus and His abundant love, mercy and grace.

So, with the angel at the tomb, I loudly proclaim, "He is not here; He has risen, just as He said."

Hallelujah! He is risen indeed!