He is Risen

http://youtu.be/u4Mp9qmjfQQ

Today I woke up next to my best friend who had surprised me with a night downtown, dinner and plans to go see Music and the Spoken Word on Temple Square with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.... he knows me too well. Easter is my absolute favorite holiday of the year. Reasons why I love Easter?

The message. Christ is risen. He no longer sleeps in the tomb, but is a resurrected man with flesh and bones. Scars of the nails, symbols of the freedom He granted to all of us, embedded in the hands He healed with and the feet He walked miles and miles on to bring this message to us. That we can have eternal life. That life is more than just the monotany of every day routines and we don't just return to the dust of the earth when we die. That we are not separated from our families by death. We live on. We have lived before now, not with bodies, and we will live again, and our bodies and spirits can unite like His did. This message gives me hope. I love my family and especially my dearest friend and husband. I want to be with him forever. Not til to death do us part. The world says that marriage is a ball and chain. But I say that marriage is freedom and love unending and peace unlike any other. I want to be with Justin forever because I love him and he makes my life vibrant and full of color. Because Christ has risen, I can rise after death with Justin and be together forever.

This year has brought us so many miracles. Of course there have been hardships and weeks where we wondered if the hard times would end. I was without work for 2 months, we had illnesses, my Granddad passed away and we have had our hearts break with family trials. But through the rain came the sunshine. I got a great job. We are graduating college. We moved closer to our families so we could help take care of our sick family members. We saw the birth of a nephew and two nieces. And though my Granddad is gone, his spirit lives on and one day he will be reunited with his body.

Yesterday Justin told me an insight that I have realized is true. Many people think that marriage is built on a foundation of common interests. While Justin and I have similar interests and we enjoy doing similar things together, that is not what our marriage is built on. He said that what makes a marriage stick are the trials you face together. Either you learn how to deal with them together as a couple and you face them head on with a common goal in mind, or you sink. I feel that in the past 2.5 years we have been together we have seen hard times. But we endure the storms together, arm in arm, knowing without a doubt that we will stick together through it all. Through these storms I feel that we also learn to rely on our Savior. There is only so much that we can do. But with faith in His love, I know that we have seen miracles.

That is why I love Easter. Today was warm and sunny. The perfect Easter Sunday. I look forward to the next year with my sweet husband. Even the hard times because I know the sun shines through and the Savior's love can be felt in the warmth of it's rays.