A close friend unexpectedly slipped a ring onto my finger. “A birthstone ring!” I exclaimed. Not only was this Easter gift a beautiful expression of the generosity and love of my friend, but it  took my mind back to the first birthstone ring I had owned…and lost.

When I was eight-years-old, my grandma gave me a beautiful birthstone ring on Christmas morning. It was an amazing gift for a little girl to receive and even more special because it came from Nana. I wore it with pleasure. Then the unthinkable happened and my ring disappeared. I was attending university at the time and living in a student residence, a charming, older building covered with vines. Where did my ring go to? My best guess is that I left it unattended on a bathroom counter  and it was stolen by a lady who had been seen in the building and was suspected of committing petty thefts. It was a great loss and I did not think to replace the ring Nana had given me. After a few years, a diamond engagement ring and then a wedding band graced my hand. Life went on and the ring was a treasured  memory from the past.

Then suddenly, this Easter, after  many years,  God restored my ring – a different ring, but given with thoughtfulness and friendship. I thought of how fitting this gift was for the Easter season. God is in the business of restoration, sometimes in areas that we would never expect. The Bible is full of verses about God giving back that which is lost. One of my favourite is from the book of Joel: “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten…(Joel 2:25, NIV).”  Growing up in Ontario, I was familiar with grasshoppers (similar to locusts), but when my husband and I lived in Saskatchewan for three years, I saw the damage these insects can do. I yelped the first time a grasshopper leaped in the car window next to where I was sitting, but this was nothing compared to the fields with large sections stripped bare of crops. The farmers had a saying that next year’s crop would be better and eventually the grain would stand tall once more. Restoration  would occur. There are many areas where we need restoration: relationships, finances, sickness, shattered dreams, broken hearts. Like the farmers, we can hold our hope before us, knowing that losses do not define us and that God will in his time and way repay us for all that has been stolen.

This brings us to Easter. Adam and Eve lost their intimate relationship with God in the Garden of Eden. Since God’s  holy nature cannot tolerate sin, the only solution was for Jesus to die on the cross, take our sins upon Him, and restore us to being full sons and daughters of God. All we need to do is believe. This is the greatest restoration of all.

As I look at the birthstone  ring on  my finger, I am reminded of what Christ does for me on a daily basis, and of the priceless gift of salvation, that we celebrate at Easter. Jesus has risen, and because He has risen, all things are possible!