Easter means so much to the world. The empty tomb brings light and hope to the entire world. It is why we celebrate Easter each and every year. Along with this great celebration comes many wonderful traditions. I love Easter morning. I love seeing the happy faces on families as they come to the church to celebrate the resurrection. I love the bright and happy clothes of Easter morning. The spring colors seem to bring joy to all who wear them. It’s such fun watching children hunt Easter eggs. And of course, candy!
Grocery stores know the importance of Easter candy. That is why they begin to sell Easter-themed candy as early as January. Dan Dafydd owns a few small stores on the Orkney Islands. The total population of these islands, just off the coast of Scotland, is just over 500 people. Dan knew he did not need a large amount of candy, but he wanted to have enough on hand. In his Easter candy order Dan ordered 80 cholate eggs. Unfortunately, Dan made a mistake…a costly mistake. Instead of ordering 80 eggs, Dan ordered 80 cases of chocolate Easter eggs. This is a total of 720 eggs, more than the population of the Islands.
Dan had no idea what he would do with all those eggs. He decided to do something good, with his mix-up. Dan created an online auction for the eggs. He let it be known that the proceeds would go to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, (RNLI). This group is responsible for the rescue operations of people and ships in the British Isles. Dan’s mistake would become the RNLI’s blessings and the blessing of those who would experience trouble at sea.
People loved that Dan was owning up to his mistake and working to make good out of this chocolate problem. In just a few days, Dan raised over $3,000. As word spread about Dan and the Easter eggs, more and more people wanted to buy these chocolate treats. Eggs were purchased by people all around the world. He ended up ordering more eggs to help keep the auction going. Nestle, the maker of the Chocolate Easter eggs, got word about what Dan was doing. Nestle agreed to match the funds he was raising, up to $10,000. By Easter morning, Dan’s simple mistake had helped to raise over $20,00.
Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone can look back on their lives and see costly failures. The good news is our mistakes are not what define us. It is how we choose to move forward that truly matters. When we, as an Easter people, realize the empty tomb is there so that we can have hope for the future, we find strength to overcome our mistakes and the grace to be different people, today. Easter is the great gift of God that we may live in hope and share love with the world, regardless of our past. Thanks be to God.
Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
