This past weekend, my family and I celebrated Easter (we’re Eastern Orthodox so our Easter usually falls on a different date). I had a bad cold and was stuck indoors for most of the weekend. But I still had a great time hanging out with my family.
I spent Saturday morning chatting with my aunts and mom while they stuffed and rolled grape leaves in preparation for Sunday’s feast. After my aunts left, it was just my mom and me. I studied the Easter wreath hanging in the kitchen–one of my mom’s creations made of straw, ribbon and pastel eggs. In the center sat a delicate twig nest.
“I love that Easter wreath,” I said.
“Don’t you remember?” my mom said. “That’s the one from last year.”
She refreshed my memory. Last spring, she hung that wreath outside on our front door. One day, she opened the door and found a new addition to the wreath–a nest! There were two bright blue eggs inside. When she checked back again, right before Easter, the eggs were gone. But the nest? It was still there.
I don’t know how I could’ve forgotten. How wonderful to think of a bird building her nest in an Easter wreath, of all places. What a beautiful sign to receive right before the holiday.
The nest is now a permanent accessory on my mom’s wreath, and not just because it looks good. It’s a message of Easter–rebirth, starting anew.
So here’s to a new beginning. Happy Easter, everyone!
Have you ever received a sign from God? Share your tale of wonder below!