This is a very special week - Holy Week. As I sit in front of my computer this morning reflecting on what the week means to me I am reminded of how different it has looked throughout the various seasons of my life.

I did not grow up in a Christian home, so Easter did not have the same meaning to me as it did to some of my friends. I remember as a little girl being somewhat jealous of my friends who would get a pretty new dress to wear to church on Easter. For my family, it was all about dyeing eggs, and lots of chocolate!

There are still many fond memories of egg hunts in our large yard with my three younger brothers, and of my grandma finding an Easter basket with her name on it tucked into an apple tree in our backyard one day. She squealed like a child when she discovered the treasure!

When I grew up I carried on those same traditions with my own children, because that is what we do, isn’t it? Complete with the baked ham Easter dinner though I never could make ham gravy like my mom’s.

Seeing the children’s eyes light up when they would finally be released into the yard to begin the hunt is a special memory. It was rewarding as a parent to see them so filled with joy and innocence.

It wasn’t until my mid-30s that the true meaning of Easter finally penetrated my heart. My youngest child was 9-years-old and my oldest just one month shy of 16 when my husband and I accepted Christ. And things in our home changed in a big way!

We began attending a local church where we were welcomed with open arms. Two of the more mature couples in the church began mentoring us and invited us into a bible study group, and the rest - as they say - is history.

I do not ever remember hearing the name of Jesus in my home as a child. The Bible stories most kids grow up knowing were totally foreign to me. Yet I do recall as an adolescent and in my early teen years having a lot of questions and a yearning to know more about this God. Now, decades later, those questions were being answered.

There have been times since that day in 1995 when I have still had questions, doubts - but there has always been someone there to reassure me of the path I and my family were on.

Now, at this season of my life, it is my turn to mentor. To remind others of the eternal significance of Easter Sunday. To encourage you to share the story - the real story of Easter from the Bible - with your children. You can hunt the eggs, eat the chocolate, and carve the ham, all with sincere gratitude for what Jesus did that Friday - and what God did on Sunday.

Happy Easter!