The Empty Grave Conundrum

We provided a typical Easter holiday for our children: Church where they learned about Jesus’s sacrifice, pretty dresses with white patent shoes, dyed eggs, and chocolate delivered by a generous rabbit who responded to their questions despite having an impossible schedule to keep. They learned that the Easter Bunny’s name is Hobie and his handwriting looks surprisingly like mine if I were to write with my left hand. Since we are Southern where spring is in full bloom by late March, we always took pretty pictures besides budding azaleas.

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Despite my longing for it to go backwards, the calendar plods on toward Easter – our second without Kylie. You might think we are getting in a groove by now, but we aren’t. Little things dig deep. Tears seem to come less frequently, but the heartache turns up like that last plastic egg you find in September because the kids gave up the hunt to eat the ears off of their chocolate bunny.

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An Introduction to Kylie

Today is Kylie’s birthday. At Perimeter Christian School, they are celebrating by committing to the kindness, joy, and selflessness that embodied Kylie (and of course, wearing yellow).  For new children who didn’t know her, one of Kylie’s favorite teachers, Jean McConaughy, wrote this beautiful Introduction to Kylie so that they would understand the purpose behind the day:

 

Let me introduce you to a very special young lady, Kylie, known around the world as “Smiley Kylie.” All of her young life, Kylie loved to smile, but more than that, she loved to bring smiles to the faces of others! Kylie loved Jesus with all of her heart and oh, how she loved to sing praise songs to Jesus. She even created some of her own! When she was in my classroom, we started each day with songs. One she often asked for was a simple chorus written by Honeytree, one of the first contemporary Christian artists. “I’m gonna believe that God is up to something good. I’m gonna believe that God is up to something good. When I don’t understand the things that happen in my life, I’m gonna believe that God is up to something good.”  Read More