My first true taste of Easter didn’t happen in the spring as you would expect. No, it occurred in December, decades ago, the day after my mother gave birth to her fifth child two months early. In the front room of our family’s rented bungalow, my young father gathered me and my three brothers around him and quietly told us the story of a baby boy–our little brother–who was born too early and lived for only nine hours.
As a five-year-old, my understanding of the situation was limited but two things stand out clearly in my memory: first, I sensed an unusual tenderness in my father as he spoke to us. Second, as he talked of the plan of salvation and eternal families–promising that our baby Richard was in Heaven and we would someday see him again–I felt the truth of his words deeply and believed them. With the help of the Holy Spirit, my father’s testimony created an essential layer of my spiritual foundation.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was experiencing my first true taste of Easter–the real-life application of the comforting doctrine of Jesus Christ’s victory over death. There were no Easter baskets that day, no colorful eggs or candy or pastel dresses. But it didn’t matter. Those popular holiday traditions wouldn’t sustain me in the future when I lost my grandparents or when other loved ones passed away. But the witness of the Holy Ghost confirming the truth of my father’s words would.
Fast forward nearly fifty years, as I stood with my mother and brothers beside Dad’s casket on the day of his funeral. I felt such peace and the absolute assurance that my father lived on and I would see him again. On that long-ago day in an Indiana bungalow, my father was unaware that he was paving the way for a smooth transition when he passed away. How grateful I am for that first real taste of Easter, of the promise of immortality made possible by Jesus Christ.
“Death is conquered; man is free.
Christ has won the victory.” (1)
O How Great the Goodness of Our God
Music and lyrics by Lynne Perry Christofferson
Vocalists:
Tammy Simister Robinson, Carlie Riding, Caleb Jardine, Lucas Robinson
Free sheet music download at: www.christoffersonmusic.com
Even in our darkest hour
when shame within us burns,
when we are afraid
for mistakes we’ve made,
every sinner has a place to turn.
Though our mortal fight with sin
cannot be won alone,
when the flesh is weak
we can humbly seek
grace from One with power to atone.
(chorus)
O how great the goodness of our God,
the wisdom which conceived
the beauty of His plan.
O how great the goodness of our God,
the mercy which has sent
a Savior unto man.
As we face the painful truth
that death will come to all,
stricken in our grief,
we can seek relief
through the One who overcame the Fall.
Though we ache when those we love
have sighed their final breath,
through our living Lord
victory is assured,
granting all deliverance from death.
(chorus)
O how great the goodness of our God,
the wisdom which conceived
the beauty of His plan.
O how great the goodness of our God,
the mercy which has sent
a Savior unto man.
Overcoming death,
conquering our sin,
O how great our debt to Him!
(chorus)
O how great the goodness of our God,
the wisdom which conceived
the beauty of His plan.
O how great the goodness of our God,
the mercy which has sent
a Savior unto man.
How great the goodness of our God.
Notes:
- Cecil Frances Alexander, He is Risen! Hymns, p. 199.
Vicki Blackner WilsonApril 17, 2025
My mother had my older brother, Herbert at 3 months premature on Sept. 5th, 1952 and he lived 5 hrs. and then on June 27th, 1953 she had me at 2 and a half months premature and I spent over 3 months in the hospital before I came home. So I've always known about Herb.