Funnily enough, this story was intended to be an Easter story, but in recent years, I have heard more and more people appreciate Christ’s atonement and resurrection at Christmas time. Christmas is easy; we’ve all been born and many of us have gone through experiences where we might feel spiritually reborn. None of us have ever been resurrected or lived again. What that means varies from person to person and denomination to denomination. I admit that I may be wrong, but to me, after the resurrection, I imagine things will be different in ways we can not yet comprehend. So how do you write about that? Still, I felt a strong prompting to write an Easter story. I did not want it to be about someone who was spiritually reborn, since that would be a Christmas story. There have been so many wonderful things that have happened in my life this year. So many friends I’m grateful to have met and known and experiences to have had. We should not live always looking to a faraway future at the expense of the moment. But I also know there are many difficult and terrible times in life, and there are problems I could not face without that glorious promise the Savior offers to us. If you are in one of those moments this Christmas, know that, “this too shall pass,” and if it helps to think about that wonderful, perfect day, when every wrong is made right, then sit there for as long as you need until you are ready to return to the present. After all, the future will always be there.

Ralus Price was not dead. But, like when he was a child at recess, he was on the fence with teachers, now doctors, screaming uselessly at him to stay on this side. For the past few years, his body had slowly begun to shut down. By the time he missed prom and homecoming, his parents had already checked him in at a hospital. “I’ll be out of here soon…” he told his family with every intention to keep that promise.

His mother, father, sister Anna, and brother Jason all visited frequently at first. However just like the disease had done to his senses, their visits gradually faded. For the last year, he had grown almost completely nonresponsive. Drifting in and out of consciousness, he heard a doctor rehearsing his ‘it’s time to pull the plug’ speech for his family.

Then, one somber spring morning, when the sun shone with bright little rays through his hospital room Ralus Price closed his eyes.

It was like the trillions of times he had closed his eyes and yet something incredible happened when he opened them. At first, it was a burst of strength and health he could feel coursing through his body, but his health had fallen so far that he was still a long climb away from feeling just plain awful.

“A miracle?” One doctor said in the hallway. “Not in our day.”

Slowly but surely, he got better. Eventually, he became healthy enough in the eyes of his caregivers that he graduated from an ‘it’ to a person. His family was gathered around him as the doctors said they felt he was well enough to go home, even if they couldn’t explain his sudden health.

Wincing and shielding his eyes, Ralus was wheeled out of the hospital and saw a bluish-gray sky. Not the picture he had hoped for. Still, he smiled seeing something he thought he might never see again.

The trip took a toll on him but he insisted it was merely exhaustion with each “are you okay?” In the middle of the day, he returned to his bed. He looked around knowing it would only be a matter of time before he nodded off.

Without kneeling or even folding his arms he closed his eyes and whispered this prayer. “Thank you God… for letting me live again…” And with that, the fatigue sunk in and he slept through the rest of the day.

Ralus had no intention of sleeping through the night. With great difficulty, he opened his eyes and groaned reading the time on the clock. It was nearly noon.

“How are you feeling?” He heard his mother call out almost immediately.

“Mom?” In the brief moment of waking, he had almost forgotten of the miracle yesterday.

He stared at the clock again and a question formed in his head and fell out of his mouth. “Why’d you let me sleep in so long?”

“You were tired.”

“How did you know I was-” he paused. It sounded wrong but there was no other way to say it. “How’d you know I was just sleeping?”

She squeezed his shoulder. “You’ve always had an atrocious snore.”

He let out a scoff. “Gee. Thanks, Mom.”

Just then his father popped in from the doorway. “Look who’s up,” he said with a smirk.

“Yeah… barely,” Ralus said.

“I know. I’ll make some pancakes or something,” his dad said.

“How’s that sound?” His Mom asked.

“Sounds good… Thanks Dad,” Ralus said.

His dad walked away and Ralus could hear the faint sound of his footsteps echo in the corridor until it was silent again.

“Come on. I’ll walk you to the kitchen,” his Mom said.

He wanted to retort that he could walk on his own. As he looked at her face he couldn’t help but notice several wrinkles that weren’t there before. How many sleepless nights have I caused her?

Even though he felt like he could walk on his own he felt compelled to let her help him. To let her love him and serve him in this small way. Soon enough he was grateful she was by his side.

“I’ve been talking with the school…” She started.

He wanted to laugh. “School? Mom, I’ve been thinking about a lot of things. School hasn’t been one of them.”

“I know… but graduation is just a month away and… If you’re able to do a little bit of work they said they’d be able to let you walk.”

Graduation day… Ralus had been looking forward to it for as long as he had been in school. It felt more like a myth than something real, let alone something that was only a month away. He had been preparing for it his whole life. Now it was here and it was the furthest thing from his thoughts.

He let out an exasperated breath. “I’m not sure if I could do what they want me to.”

“Well you were a good student and they said you don’t have to make up everything you missed all at once. There’s enough grace in the world that can make up the difference if you’re willing to make even a tiny bit of effort.”

Ralus brought his mother to a stop at the threshold from the living room to the kitchen, where the floor changed from carpet to tile. He didn’t feel like making any effort at all.

“Come on,” She pushed him over the threshold. The floor was colder and harder. He could feel his knees beginning to buckle. “We’re almost there. Take it one step at a time,” she said.

Ralus had hoped that if he could ignore his schoolwork it would go away. But the pile grew taller. Ultimately, he did start working on it, though not for any lofty reason. He was bored. Recovery is a very tedious process, and the mountain of ‘don’ts’ goes far higher than any amount of homework, so one day, unceremoniously, he began with arithmetic.

“Jason?” he asked one night working on a review sheet. “Could you grab my history notebook? It’s the green one in our room on the end of the dresser.”

Jason looked up from his phone taking out a pair of earbuds. “Why don’t you get it?”

“Kay,” Ralus stood up slowly, not wanting to push his brother. The trip was simple but he still felt short of breath when he got back.

“Was that really so hard?” Jason asked.

I don’t need this… Ralus wanted to say, but every word required energy. “No,” he answered simply.

“You look exhausted,” Jason said.

Ralus gave him a puzzled look.

“It’s just so unnatural… The doctors still can’t explain it. I don’t like any of this,” Jason said, almost as though he were accusing Ralus of something.

Ralus closed his notebook. “I didn’t choose to get sick,” Ralus said.

“I know that,” Jason said. “But your being here is already bringing up a lot of emotions for everyone. Mom especially has been crying a lot more.”

Ralus clenched his fists. “You can’t put all that on me,” Ralus said.

“Then whose fault is it!? God’s?”

Ralus looked at his history notebook that started this conversation. “There’s not always someone to blame. And just because there’s no one to blame doesn’t mean you can blame God. Instead of looking for someone to blame why haven’t you tried to be more helpful to the family if you’re so worried about them.”

Jason flinched.

“I’m sorry,” Ralus said knowing the words weren’t enough. “I don’t want to hurt anyone… especially the family, but I’m here and God willing, I plan on staying.”

Jason turned his head afraid that the tear forming in his eye would be seen. It was, and it said more than any words Jason could think of.

Anna was a peculiar older sister. Most older sisters are but Ralus always thought his was the only one. The two had shared all sorts of things: toys, friends, problems, and lots of food. Nearby their home was a greasy burger place that the family loved. Everyone had a regular order and part of Anna’s was a carton of chicken nuggets that she never ate right away.

“Why do you get them if you’re not gonna eat them?” Ralus would always razz her.

“I’m saving them for later,” she would tell him, stuffing them in the fridge.

One day Ralus was hungry and they had just had dinner from that place the night before. To his credit, he did think about it before stealing her chicken nuggets. He didn’t think long and the responding thought was ‘Yes’ but he did think about it.

Since then it evolved into a game. She’d hide her spoils somewhere in the fridge, or once in the winter she tried in the snow but that didn’t quite work out. If Ralus could find them then as the saying goes, “finder’s keepers”. She would always scold him when he won but Anna was smart enough to know she could outsmart him.

The first time the Price family ate there after Ralus returned to them they went through their usual routine. The next day, everyone was at school or running errands so Ralus had the house to himself. Feeling a little hungry he went to the fridge and saw a carton of nuggets in the open. He frowned. The game itself often brought more satisfaction than the nuggets.

He tilted his head like a detective about to find the clue to break the case. Was it a decoy? He lifted the box and felt a familiar weight to it. You’re losing your touch, sis.

Ralus, feeling proud of the work he had done for the day sat on the main couch watching a show he had looked forward to coming out almost a year ago. At least I don’t have to wait a week for each new episode…

A few hours later everyone was home. He remained on the couch watching TV when Anna walked up beside him.

“Yes?” Ralus said, knowing he was about to be reprimanded. He paused the TV but to his surprise, she didn’t have a smug or annoyed look on her face. She was crying.

“Anna? What’s wrong?”

She fell to her knees and threw her arms around him over the armrest on the couch taking out the remote in one fell swoop.

“What are you doing!?” He said, unable to return the hug from his position.

“I’m so glad you're back.”

“I’ve been back for a week and a half!”

“I know- but…” she let him go and wiped her eyes.

Finally, he put the pieces together. “Crying over chicken nuggets… Come on, you’ve gotta pull yourself together.”

She laughed through tears. “You know-” she sniffled. “It was kind of the opposite when you left. I knew in my mind that you were gone but- when I realized I didn’t have to hide them anymore… That’s how I knew you were really gone… That’s when my heart learned it.”

The smile became heavy on Ralus’s face. He knew things had to have been rough and after talking with Jason he began to think about what life was like without him. Not the big moments like school or trips the family would go on, but the little moments too. Like getting home from school and not seeing someone who was always there.

“I’m sorry…” Ralus said.

“It’s okay,” Anna said.

“If I had known taking those nuggets would make you cry, I would have thought about it some more…” he said with a smirk. “But I still would have eaten them.”

Ralus must have imagined graduation a dozen different ways, but the end result was simple and admittedly a little disappointing. Still, he received that pivotal piece of paper. Somehow being on the fence between life and death made everything different. Suddenly a piece of paper and a GPA had little effect on his happiness. With a tear on his cheek, he walked.

There was a sudden jolt to Ralus’s consciousness when the ceremony concluded and he left the building. After an album of pictures were taken he put on his seat belt in the family car ready to leave and go on to whatever awaited him next. It was almost as though he expected all existence to come to an end after graduation, but life went on.

And although there were many complex and beautiful moments to come in Ralus’s life today was going to be a day wrapped in the grandeur of simplicity.

Not far from the Price home was a large park with enough trees to fool the squirrels into thinking they lived in a forest. At the center was a large grassy basin with a few rocks along the perimeter.

After some talk, food, and laughter, Ralus stepped away from his family to find a moment of quiet. Resting against the hill overlooking his family in the distance he pulled his Bible out of his bag. He’d been distracted when he tried to study in the morning so he wanted to make up for that.

He yawned as a natural satisfying tiredness came over him and the wind gently passed by. Then he could feel a tear building in his eye. He wasn’t sure why he was crying. He did not feel sad. He had no pain pressing against him. Probably just allergies… He thought wiping it away. But just as he did so he felt another one beginning to form.

It was here that he read in his Bible in the book of Revelation this simple verse, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

It made him pause and think about the day when Jesus would come again. Like graduation, it felt distant, and as though existence would end, but surely there would be days after that. What would that be like? He wondered. Days, where sadness would have to be looked up in a dictionary and pain, was a fuzzy memory. A day where the slow subtle realization death and loss had on people would be replaced by a gracious reality of life eternal becoming normal. No more tears… He thought to himself.

And then a magnificent question formed in Ralus’s mind. When will the last of Earth’s tears be shed?

Will it be a tissue company president?

Then he felt what must have been a strong spiritual kick in his side. No, no, a voice seemed to whisper. There will still be tears…

He thought about that scripture he had just read. In the days after Jesus comes again… Where the only scars left in the world are in His hands, feet, and side, when the peace that “surpasseth all understanding” will not only be understood but felt in every breath… surely there will be tears.

But sometime after that, surely there would eventually be a day when the last of Earth’s tears would trickle down the face of some happy person.

No…  A voice seemed to tell him. Then he realized that there would always be a reason for joy, and thus always be a reason for tears. As tears are so linked with sorrow now, there will come a day when they are linked with joy and we will cry forever, tears of purest joy.

So when will be the last of Earth’s tears? Never. Because there will always be tears of joy. God would wipe away all tears of sorrow. Tears shed for death, tears shed in sorrow, tears cried in pain, but not tears of joy. As now we see someone crying we wonder “what is wrong?” but when there are no other tears; when the only tears we shed are tears of joy, our first reaction when we see someone crying will instead be “what is right?” or “why are they so happy?” It may seem like it could take forever until we reach such a day, but that is exactly what He has given us: Eternity.

His family’s laughs blending together into one beautiful noise brought Ralus back to reality.

With no clear answer to his question he closed his Bible and returned to his family,  his heart still tender on the thoughts that had entered his mind. There were many tears to be shed between this moment and the ‘last of Earth’s tears,’ but whenever Ralus felt overwhelmed he would think of the day when he would see tears and only think of joy, not sadness or pain. He knew that someday, some very far away day, after the Savior had returned and set everything wrong right, everything broken, completed, everything, he would dwell not in some fictitious ‘happily ever after’ but in a very real happy forever.