Did you know that Easter Egg hunts are symbolic? Easter is a religious holiday meant to celebrate
the Savior’s Atonement and Resurrection. Much of what we do to celebrate helps
us remember the Savior if we choose to learn about an focus on those symbols.
We didn’t do an Easter egg hunt this year. Leaving candy
in plastic eggs in the desert makes a big, melty mess. And even if we wanted to
hide eggs in the backyard, we have a loyal golden retriever who would “find”
every egg. Besides that, with rattlesnakes out and about, I don’t like the idea
of my children looking under rocks or around the shady bases of trees for treasure.
But the Easter bunny did hide their Easter baskets
this year. Each child had a different experience finding their basket.
As the kids went around the house searching for their
baskets the story of the Resurrection came to mind:
On the dawn of the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene and other women
set out for the tomb where the body of Jesus had been laid. The women carried
spices they had prepared to anoint the Lord’s body.
As
they talked together, they wondered who would remove the great stone that had
been rolled in front of the door to seal the tomb. But when the women arrived,
they were surprised to see that the stone had already been rolled away.
When
they entered the sepulcher, they were frightened by a young man clothed in
white robes. He spoke to them, saying, “Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek
Jesus, which was crucified.
“He
is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord
lay.
“And
go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead; and behold,
He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him.”
President Uchtdorf said,
“Heaven may seem distant at times, but the scriptures offer hope. ‘Ye shall
seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’
Sometimes finding the Savior in our lives is easy.
Gavin found his Easter basket right away because it was near his bed.
I have also been surprised at times by the goodness of God or the quickness of His response to my
prayers. Sometimes He answers even
before I know to ask.
Sometimes, though, it takes work, diligence, patience, and endurance. President Uchtdorf said,
“Seeking God with all our hearts implies much more than simply offering a
prayer or pronouncing a few words inviting God into our lives.”
President Nelson, in the
interview with the children at The Sacred Grove shown at our most recent General Conference said, “The Lord loves effort because effort brings rewards that
can’t come without it. It takes effort, a lot of hard work, a lot of study, and
there’s never an end. That’s good! That’s good because we’re always
progressing.”
What does working hard
to seek the Savior in our lives look like? Work hard at what? How should we be persistent?
Emily had a hard time
finding her Easter basket. She looked and looked on her own. She
asked Sean for help. She asked me for clues. Finally, she had to think like the
person who hid the basket.
Emily’s experience is
similar to ours in seeking the Savior’s influence in our lives.
Enlist
Help: How do we enlist help in seeking a stronger
relationship with Jesus Christ? We seek the guidance and counsel of leaders,
parents, and friends, who love us as He does and who can guide us. Anybody who
points us towards Jesus Christ through their behaviors and words would be a
good person to help.
Ask for
clues: Where do we find
clues? Studying the Savior’s life in the scriptures, meaningful personal prayer,
and heeding the counsel of the prophets, give us clues on how to strengthen our
relationship with the Savior. President Nelson’s advice to “hear, hearken, and
heed,” is a good formula to follow.
Think Like the Person who did the hiding: I
can think of a ton of movies where a child goes missing. Everybody is in a
panic searching. They call out their name. Finally, when nobody thinks they’re
going to find the missing child, one person remembers something the child did
or said or a favorite place they like to go.
They all run to that place, and there’s the missing child.
It’s the same with a good game of hide-and-seek. When
you’re trying to find somebody, you put yourself in their shoes. You ask
yourself, “Where would I hide if I were them?”
We are most effective in finding the Savior in our
lives when we align our thoughts and actions with His. We do the things He would do. We say the
things He would say.
Elder Uchtdorf said, “His pure love directs and
encourages us to become more pure and holy. It inspires us to walk in
righteousness—not out of fear or obligation but out of an earnest desire to
become even more like Him because we love Him.”
When Emily finally found her Easter basket, she was
just as excited as Gavin when he found his. She placed the basket on the
kitchen table and looked excitedly through her gifts. She said, “Ooooh, I just
love presents.”
I know that when we seek the influence of the Savior
in our lives, we will be delighted with the results. The work is worth it.
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