Experience a Special Sunrise

John 20:1 "Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance."

Remember Easter as a child? Was your best memory the Easter baskets with candy, eggs, and that funny grass? Or was it the new clothes you wore to church that morning?

I remember not particularly caring for the new clothes. The shirt buttoned tightly around my neck and the tie made me feel like I was going to choke. Our family never missed an Easter sunrise service. For me, getting up at 4:30 in the morning was no treat.

The Easter baskets were still empty and we had to rush to get ready and be in the car by 6:00 am. We then had to put on our smiles and be in good spirits even though we wanted to go back to sleep before the fifteen-minute ride to church was over.

My best memories of our sunrise services were not the great music or inspiring message, but the smell of breakfast cooking downstairs. The fresh donuts after the service made the early wake-up call worthwhile. As a freshman in college, I experienced a special Easter sunrise service held high on a hill next to the school. About fifteen students, including myself, hiked up the hill early in the morning while it was still dark. Then we sat on the new spring grass facing toward the east.

It was there that we talked about Mary Magdalene and what she might have thought as she approached the tomb. We talked about her having lost such a dear friend and of her duty to come and pay respects with spices for the body. Then we talked of her deep sorrow.

As the sun rose in the valley, we imagined what Mary and the other women must have experienced when they looked into the empty tomb. First is disbelief, then investigation of the facts, and finally a personal meeting with Jesus. They found joy in that glorious sunrise.

Sometimes we can allow a busy Easter morning to rob us from taking a deep breath, watching the sunrise, and experiencing the joy of a risen Savior? Why don't we take fifteen minutes this Sunday and celebrate Jesus again? Find out when sunrise occurs and enjoy how God starts a new day.

Cherish the moment with our risen Lord!