Chapter One

"Tomorrow's Easter!" exclaimed Patty as Mother tucked her into bed. " I can't wait to see what's in my basket in the morning."

Mother smiled, knowing the basket was already filled with Patty's favorite things, and the big yellow bow was tied at the top of the handle.

Patty wrapped both arms around her favorite doll and pulled her blanket a little closer.

As soon as Mother had left the room, Patty began to talk to her doll. "You just wait 'till we get up in the morning," she said. "There will be three big Easter baskets. The one with the yellow bow will be mine: The two with the green bows will be for Garry and Larry; They will be the same baskets that we get every year, but they will have all new stuff inside. They will be filled with chocolate bunnies, and chicks, and colored eggs."

"After we open our baskets, we'll go outside and look for the colored eggs that will be hidden all around the house. Sometimes they are in the strangest places and hard to find."

On and on went the one sided conversation until Patty drifted off to sleep.

Mother sat down in her rocking chair and picked up her knitting, waiting for Father to tuck the twin boys into bed. The radio played softly in the background.

Just as Father came into the room, a choir on the program, began to sing: The words, and the beautiful harmony of the music brought a penetrating spirit of worship.

Mother lifted her hands in worship. Tears of thanksgiving streamed down her face, as the message in the song filled her heart.

"Gone... the stone is rolled back.
Gone ... the tomb is empty.
Gone... to sit at The Father's Side
Gone... over death triumphant,
Gone... Sin is defeated
Gone... He lives forevermore."

Father bowed his head and they worshiped together, remembering the story of that great resurrection morning, when Mary Magdalene had come to the tomb before daylight to anoint the body of Jesus, and had found the stone rolled away.

In their minds were images of Mary running from the tomb and finding Simon Peter and John: Saying to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid him."

They could envision the fearful look on the faces of Peter and John as they ran to the sepulcher. John got there first. He stooped down and looked inside, but Peter ran right past him, and went into the tomb. Peter saw the linen clothes lying there where Jesus had been laid. Then John entered the tomb. He too, saw the linen clothes, but he noticed that the napkin that had been wrapped about his head was not lying with the linen clothes. It was wrapped together in a place by itself. When he saw how the napkin was wrapped and laid in a separate place from the linen clothes; he knew that the Master had done it: and he believed.

With all that Jesus had taught them, they had not yet understood that He would rise again.

The disciples left, but Mary stood outside the sepulcher weeping. She stooped down and looked inside. She saw two angels in white sitting; One of them at the head, and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain.

The angels said unto her, "Woman, why weepest thou?"

Mary replied, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him."

Then Mary turned around and saw a man standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.

The man spoke to her and asked, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?"

Mary thought He was the gardener, and said to him, "Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."

The man called her by name, saying "Mary."

Mary recognized his voice, turned herself and said to him, "Master." Jesus said to Mary, "Don't touch me now, for I have not yet ascended to my Father: But go to my disciples and tell them that I ascend unto my Father and your Father; and to my God, and your God."

Father lifted his tear stained face and said reverently, "Can you imagine how broken hearted Mary must have felt, when she came to the tomb and found the stone rolled away? How devastating it must have been for her, thinking the Lord's body had been taken and not know what had happened to it? Can anyone help but wonder what it was like to step inside that tomb and find it empty with only the linen clothes lying there? Or to have seen the two angels in white and hear them announce that He is risen from the dead? Think of being the first one to see Jesus in His resurrected body, and have Him give you a message for his disciples. Oh, what a blessed event we celebrate each Easter!"

Just then, a news flash interrupted the program. "Severe thunderstorms are now moving into the area. Possible tornadoes. Everyone should take cover immediately."

"Get Patty and hurry to the basement," said Father. "I'll get the boys."

Just as Mother reached Patty's room, a loud clap of thunder woke Patty up and scared her so, that she screamed with fright.

"It's a bad thunderstorm," said her mother. "Come quickly, we must go to the basement."

Patty jumped out of her bed with her blanket and her doll and hurried with her mother to the safety of the basement. Soon Father and the two boys came bounding into the small room in the basement that offered the most protection. Father was carrying the radio, in hopes of keeping up with the progress of the storm.

Father plugged in the radio while Mother set some candles and an oil lamp, on a table - just in case the electricity should go off.

Mother looked at the children. They looked so frightened, all huddled in one corner of the room. She sat down in a little chair that belonged in the play room.

"Don't be afraid," she said. "We serve a big God who loves us. Why... don't you know that He rides upon the storm?"

"He does?" asked Patty, looking wide-eyed and hopeful. "Listen," said Mother calmly. She turned and looked toward the radio. "Listen to the words of the song."

The choir was singing again,

"Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more. Till the clouds roll forever from the sky. Hold me fast, let me stand, in the hollow of your hand, Keep me safe, till the storm passes by."

The children seemed comforted by the words of the song and the soft melody of the music.

Patty pulled her blanket a little closer and hugged her doll a little tighter. "Don't be afraid," she said. "God is riding on the storm, and He is watching over us. We will all be okay." she said calmly.

Father unfolded the cots and Mother spread blankets over each of them for the children.

Patty hugged her doll close and whispered, "Don't forget; tomorrow's Easter. Let's go to sleep so we can wake up early and see what's in the basket."

Chapter Two

Mother and Father listened to the newscast long after the children had fallen asleep.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash: The lights and the radio went off.

"That must have been the big oak," said Father. "Sounds like it broke and fell on the house."

Mother lit a candle and held it up, so Father could see enough to light the oil lamp.

"Perhaps we should try and get some rest. "Tomorrow's Easter, and we have three little ones who are expecting to find baskets in the morning," said Father smiling, as he unfolded the last two cots.

Mother spread blankets over the cots and each of them laid down.

The rain fell hard, and the wind blew furiously; but little of the storm could be heard from the small room in the basement: Soon Mother and Father were both fast asleep.

The next morning, just at the break of dawn, Father awoke. Everything was calm. The wind had stopped blowing and the rain had stopped falling. Again, he worshipped God and gave thanks that his family had a safe place to be in the time of storms.

Then Father slipped quietly upstairs to check for damages to the house, and to retrieve the three Easter baskets.

The house seemed undamaged, until he went to the utility room to get the baskets. When he opened the door, he saw that the big oak had crashed through the roof. There was barely enough room to step inside.

Suddenly, a small sparrow flew from between two thick branches, and whisped past him.

Father's heart pounded so hard because of the sudden, and unexpected, swift movement of the bird, that he almost fainted.

When Father was able to catch his breath, he tried to crawl between the two big limbs to see if he could get to the Easter baskets. Much to his surprise, a bird house hung in the small opening.

His mind raced back in time, to the day he had hung the bird house in the tree. The tree was not nearly so big then. He remembered how he and his wife had watched, hoping a bird would take up residence there. But they had moved on with other things at hand and had forgotten about the bird house. Now, here it hung, all weather worn, and the bright colored paint had long been washed away.

Father turned the little house toward the daylight, so he could look inside.

Much to his surprise, there was a nest with four tiny speckled eggs.

Father was smiling as he hurried downstairs to wake Mother.

"The storm is over," said Father. "The house suffered no damage except the utility room. A limb broke off the oak tree and crashed through the roof."

"What about the children's baskets?" asked Mother.

Father was still smiling. "We will all share a basket this year," he said. "It doesn't have a colored bow, or chocolate bunnies, but it does have colored eggs."

"Do You mean you could only get to one of the baskets?" asked Mother.

"I couldn't get to any of the baskets that we fixed for the children," said Father. "But I did find a very special family basket.

Father's eyes were beaming, and Mother couldn't understand why he seemed so unconcerned about the utility room being destroyed. "Come and see, before the children wake up," he said.

Mother followed quietly to the utility room. Father pushed the door open and pointed to the thick branch. "You'll have to look under that branch," he said.

Mother stooped down and looked. Tears sprang to her eyes as the same haunting memories of the past floated through time and space to remind her of the joy they had shared when they had first hung the new birdhouse.

After some time of reliving the beautiful memories of the past, Mother stood up and brushed the tears from her cheeks. "I think the children will be pleased. Let's go and wake them," she said. "They're always anxious to see what's in their Easter basket."

Mother and Father hurried back to the basement to wake the children.

The children rubbed their eyes and looked beside their cots.

"Where's my Easter basket?" asked Patty.

Father smiled. "I'll have to take you to it," he said. "The oak tree was broken during the storm, last night. There is only one basket, and it is different from the basket you may be expecting. It has no green grass, and there are no chocolate bunnies or yellow chicks. There isn't even a bow tied on top. But it is a family basket that we can all share."

Patty and the twins all looked confused.

"Come on," said Father. "It's really a lovely basket."

Everyone hurried up the stairs. Father paused when they reach the door to the utility room, "We'll let Patty look first," said Father.

Patty stepped into the room. She could see nothing but the huge limbs of the tree that filled the room.

"Stoop down and look under that limb," said Father.

Patty stooped down and looked inside the weather beaten birdhouse. "Ohhhhhh. What an Easter basket!" exclaimed Patty.

"Let us see!" cried Garry.

Patty came out of the room so the boys could have their turn to see the basket. Both boys tried to get theirs heads into the small opening at the same time. "Where's the mama bird," asked Larry.

"I frightened her when I first came into the room," answered Father with a chuckle. "However, I don't think I frightened her any worse than she frightened me, when she flew past me trying to escape."

"Will she come back?" asked Patty.

"I think she will when she feels it is safe again," said Father. "We will close the door for now. Mother and I will tell you the story of how the bird house came to be in the tree.

Everyone gathered around the table, anxious to hear all about the birdhouse.

"We were quite young, but our dream was to own our own home as soon as possible," said Mother. "When we first saw this house, I'm afraid it didn't look much better than the birdhouse looks now. It was structurally sound; But it needed a good coat of paint. We liked the fact that it was big enough for the family we had already dreamed of having.

"Then, your Father pointed to the limb on the oak tree. "We'll hang a birdhouse right there," he said.

"That was one of the first things your father did. As soon as we got settled, he bought new lumber and built the little bird house, just as he had promised."

Mother turned and looked at Father. "Do you remember how excited we were that day?" she asked. "It was just the two of us, and I think we were trying to fill up that empty spot in our hearts of having no children, yet."

Father smiled. "I do remember," he chuckled. "We sat down together and decided exactly how big it would be, and what it should look like. I drew out a blueprint with all the measurements. Then you suggested that I paint it snow white and trim it with bright red."

Father turned and looked at the children. "I was trying to impress your Mother," he said. "I scaled up the tree trunk and walked out onto the limb. I hung the bird house okay, but I lost my footing and came tumbling out of the tree. I landed right at your Mother's feet. Lucky for me, the limb wasn't too far from the ground."

"We watched and waited, thinking the birds would all be anxious to move right in." said Mother. "But not a single bird went into the bird house."

"As the years passed, we found ourselves busy working the land and raising you children. The limbs continued to grow, and finally the bird house was hidden from our view. Eventually, we both forgot about the birdhouse."

"This morning when your father brought me upstairs to see it again, I had to stoop down to see inside: Much like Mary did when she came to the tomb where Jesus had been laid."

"I was surprised to see the nest with four speckled eggs inside. I wondered how Mary must have felt when she looked inside the tomb and saw two angels, who told her that Jesus had risen from the dead, and was no longer there."

New tears were running down Mothers face, as she recounted the blessed story of that first Easter morning.

All eyes were on Mother, when suddenly, she was interrupted by a loud chirp and the flutter of wings.

Father put his finger to his lips, signaling that everyone should be very quiet. Then he spoke softly, just above a whisper. "She's back," said Father. "We can watch from the doorway, without disturbing the nest or causing the mama to be frighten away. We must protect our Easter basket and be sure it has the opportunity to be fulfilled as God planned."

All three children tiptoed toward the door, trying to see what was going on in the bird house.

"What about the utility room?" asked Mother.

Father smiled. "It can wait," he replied. "A live Easter basket, delivered on Easter Morning, through storm and flood; right into the house, is a precious gift from the hand of a great giver."

"I can't see her," whispered Patty. "I think she went back into the birdhouse."

"That's good," said Father. "The eggs will be safe now."

"How will we know when they've hatched?" asked Garry.

"That's easy," said Father. "When the babies hatch, they will be very hungry. First, you will hear lots of chirping; Then you will see the mama flying back to the birdhouse with big worms in her beak to feed them?"

"Patty grinned and wrinkled her nose. "I'm glad I'm not a bird," she said. "I don't think I'd like eating worms."

The next morning, everyone was anxious to know what the mama bird was doing. Father slipped the door open just enough to see the birdhouse.

"I think the mama has already gone out to get herself something to eat," he

One by one the children each stooped down to look at the speckled eggs in the Easter basket.

Chapter Three

The next day started out like most other Monday mornings. Mother had gotten the children off to school and was washing the breakfast dishes, when she heard a knock at the front door.

She dried her hands and went to see who had come calling so early in the morning.

Through the window, she could see a big truck, marked "Tree Trimmers" sitting at the edge of the road.

Mother opened the door to find a stranger standing on the porch.

"I stopped by to see if you need someone to remove the tree that has fallen through your roof," he said. "Looks like you weren't as lucky as some."

"Perhaps we were not as lucky as some, but we were certainly more blessed than most," said mother.

The man hesitated a moment and said, "You do realize that a tree has crashed through your roof. Don't you?"

"Yes," replied Mother.

"I'll be glad to saw it apart and take it away," replied the man.

"Thanks," Mother answered. "But we have decided to leave it where it is for now."

The man looked puzzled. "I'll make the price affordable," he said.

"Oh, it isn't the money," replied Mother with a smile. "Maybe later."

"What about your house?" asked the man.

"The house is fine," said Mother

The man shook his head and turned to go back to his truck.

Mother went back to her chores. Every once in a while, she checked to see if the mama had left the nest.

But the mama did not come out of the bird house all day.

When the children came home from school, they were anxious to know what was going on in the bird house.

Mother was smiling. I think there's a surprise in the Easter basket," she said. "The mama stayed in the nest all day, and I didn't get a chance to see inside: But I thought I heard some little chirps just a while ago."

The children tiptoed through the kitchen and peeped through the small opening of the door.

"She just flew out of the nest," said Garry, as he stepped into the room and stooped down to look inside the birdhouse. "They've all hatched," called Garry. He turned his head and looked at Mother. "Can't see anything but four big mouths."

Mother smiled. "I think their mama is out looking for something to feed them," she said.

"Couldn't we feed them," asked Patty.

"Oh no," said Mother. "God cares for the birds, just as he cares for us. Jesus said for us to behold the fowls of the air: They neither sow, nor reap. They do not build barns to store food in. Yet our heavenly Father provides for them, day by day. Jesus wanted us to know that God is so thoughtful of everything he created, that he provides for even the smallest creatures of the earth. He wanted us to know just how loving and caring God is toward us. Paul said later that God supplies all our needs, according to His riches in glory."

"God is good," said Patty. "But I'm glad he gives us something better than worms to eat."

Just then, Father came in from the field. "Was that the mama, I just saw outside, carrying a worm that was almost as big as herself?" he said with a grin.

"The birds have already hatched," said Patty. "Can't see anything but their big mouths."

Father closed the door, until there was only a large enough space to watch through.

"There she is." Whispered Larry.

"What a big worm," said Patty. "It looks big enough to fill all four of them up."

"I'm afraid it will take much more than that," said Father. The mama will have to make a lot of trips between now and the time for them to fly."

"Patty snickered. "They don't have any feathers," she said. "I know," said Father. "But it won't take them long to be fully covered. Then we can move the birdhouse without fear of the mama forsaking the nest."

"A tree trimmer came by this morning and offered to move the tree at a good price," said Mother.

"Do we have to move it?" asked Patty.

Mother and Father looked at each other, but remained silent.

"Well..., do we?" asked the twins. "Oh, please leave it," begged the children.

"Maybe we should leave it until the birds leave the nest," said Father. "I can trim the limb and repair the roof. Then we can hang the birdhouse on another limb in the Oak tree."

"Perhaps we should," said Mother. "After all, it was our dream from the beginning to have a birdhouse that we could see. If we hand it back in the tree, maybe the mama will come again next Easter and fill the basket again with eggs."

"Very well," said Father. "When the mama goes out again to find food, I will trim the limbs so we can open the door and have a better view."

Everyone waited anxiously. One by one, the babies hushed as the mama shared a piece of the worm with each of them.

Then she flew out of the birdhouse and disappeared from sight.

Father stepped inside the room and began to trim back the limbs, so the door could be opened wide.

When the mama returned, she was carrying another large worm. She perched on a sawed off limb and looked curiously at the family members. Then she went into the birdhouse and fed the chirping babies.

"We never dreamed that the first nest in our birdhouse would be shared with three children," said Mother.

"And we never imagined it would make such a lively Easter basket," said Father. A solemn look came over his face. "You know... Job said, 'The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord'." The storm took away the Easter baskets that we had prepared, but God sent us something much more precious in their place. Isn't God good?"

"We have never had a need, that He has not supplied," said Mother.

"Well, I guess I need to order some new lumber for the new roof," said Father.

Day after day, the mama came and went from the nest. The family watched from a short distance.

While Father was busy rebuilding the roof, the babies grew and were soon covered with feathers.

One day, when the children came home after school, they went as usual to look inside the birdhouse.

"It's empty!" cried Patty. "The mama and all the babies are gone!"

Mother stooped down and looked into the nest. "Just like Jesus," said Mother. "They have risen from their little tomb."

"Look!" cried Patty, pointing to the egg shells left in the nest. "They left their grave clothes too; like Jesus did."

Mother laughed. "I think Jesus was much neater than the birds," she said "He folded His things up and didn't leave the place in such a mess."

Just then Father came into the house. "Don't look so sad," he said. "Come. I have something to show you."

Everyone followed Father to the barn. There set three new birdhouses. Each of them had a name written over the tiny hole that was cut for a door.

"A new Easter basket with my name on it!" exclaimed Patty, as she ran to look inside.

"Mother and I will continue to share the old birdhouse," said Father. "And I have built one for each of you to hang in the tree. Who knows, maybe next year the birds will come back and fill all of our Easter baskets with speckled eggs."

The End

PATTY'S NEW EASTER BASKET
© by Mildred L. Music and Melvin Jones
April 21, 1998
Published by: The Soaring Eagle
101 Arretta Street Bonifay, FL 32425

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