When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. Mark 16:1-4

Sometimes, no matter how good you might be at planning, you still forget something, and it looks like on that first Easter morning, even though the ladies may have remembered many details, one very large item failed to receive their adequate attention – the stone sealing Jesus’ tomb.

It would be nice to say that perhaps the ladies ventured out that morning in faith, confident that God would provide a way. But that’s not the case – just look at their conversation. “Who will roll the stone away…?” is recorded in Mark, but I can imagine the conversation going on... ‘Why didn’t you wake one of the men to help us?’ 'Oh sure, you try getting Peter up at this hour for anything except fishing! '‘I brought the spices, why didn’t you think of bringing tools for the stone?’ ‘Am I supposed to remember everything?’

“But when they looked up (ahaaaa!) , they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.”

Are there large stones out in front of you?

Sometimes we do confront life's challenges in faith, asking God to grant us courage and trust that He will provide. At other times, however, we may approach such challenges like the ladies, somewhat ill-prepared. And probably there are even times when we approach the challenges we face with precision planning and complete confidence…in ourselves. But then those large stones appear.

Regardless of our planning and efforts, whether highly skilled or woefully imperfect, God's hand is always at work in our life. His hand stands out in the Easter morning text, and He who has power over sin, death and the devil, will certainly take care of the large stones in our life, also.

That stone, which was very large, was only the first surprise for the ladies on Easter morning. Not only was the stone moved, but Jesus had risen, sins were taken away, and death had been conquered.

He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!