*The following italicized text is an excerpt from my new book, Everyday MOMents: Discovering Christ in the Details of Motherhood.

It’s time to do laundry … again. I’m folding the most recent load as the littles dart and dash in all directions.

I count six piles of neatly folded whites lining our bed. One shirt remains. Gently lifting one sleeve over, then the next, I press creases down, then tuck and fold the shirt into a tight rectangle. As I pick it up, I think of another pile of linens: the white linens Peter found laying in an empty tomb on the first Easter morning.

As it says in Luke 24:12, “Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.”

To me, the remnant cloths are a kind token, a love note, left behind by the Savior. It seems this was a way to let His wondering disciples know that He had not left in haste. He had been there, and He had accomplished His assigned task. He had not been forced from the tomb during a raid, but He was lovingly doing what He always did—His Father’s will. Maybe as I leave neatly folded piles of clothes on beds, waiting for other hands to swoop them up and place them in correct drawers, I am leaving tokens of love, too. My love note says, “Mom was here. I did this small task for you, and I’ll be there for you again and again.”

Christ accomplished His task – His all-encompassing and ever-lasting atonement – for you, and He’ll be there for you again and again. And we can follow His perfect lead (though we follow imperfectly), by serving those we love and being there to serve again and again.

Within the details of my laundry, the Spirit leads me to discover two key principles regarding the atonement:

1. At the end of the day, to say “laundry is done” means that each family member’s clothes have been washed/dried, sorted and folded. It’s a process that takes time. I can’t finish off an entire load with one swoop; I must feel and fold each item. So it is for our Savior. He washes each one of us. He sorts out all of our situations. He feels it all. He folds us in His love, one by one … and that’s how we should love too. The more I learn and ponder about the atonement, the more I am realize how personalized the atonement was. He suffered for us individually. It wasn’t an entire load in one swoop, but an item-by-item, person-by-person, heart-by-heart help. He did it for me. He did it for you. And He did it for every person who ever lived or who will ever live.
   

   “For many years I thought of the Savior’s experience in the garden and on the cross as places where a large mass of sin was heaped upon Him. Through the words of Alma, Abinadi, Isaiah, and other prophets, however, my view has changed. Instead of an impersonal mass of sin, there was a long line of people, as Jesus felt “our infirmities” (Heb. 4:15), “[bore] our griefs, … carried our sorrows … [and] was bruised for our iniquities” (Isa. 53:4–5). The Atonement was an intimate, personal experience in which Jesus came to know how to help each of us.” – Merrill J. Bateman, “A Pattern for All,” General Conference, Oct. 2005.

2. Laundry doesn’t point to me, it points to Him … and so should every task and act during the day. I think most mothers would agree that we don’t receive much glory for the tasks we complete – nor do we want it. As Christ served and suffered for us, He constantly gave the glory to God. In every act, Christ pointed His followers to the Father. For He said, “All things are delivered unto me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father…” (Matt 11: 27) and “I have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of this world” (3 Nephi 11: 11). We can live by His example by always giving God the glory.

We know from the scriptures that “when ye are in the service of your fellow being, ye are only in the service of your God.” (Mosiah 2:17). That means that when we serve others, we’re serving Him. And when we serve quietly or secretly, we’re getting out of the way and giving Him all the glory!

I love that we have been organized into families, so that we can practice these two eternal principles! We can simultaneously serve those we love on a daily basis one-by-one and give the glory to God. We can do serve and love quietly. We can serve and love simply. We can serve and love like Him – and for Him.

Want a practical way to practice – and one that includes the whole family? Focus on serving one-by-one and glorifying Him this Easter season by:

• Hosting a family discussion about how Christ serves one-by-one; and how when we serve others we’re really serving Him.
• Then give each person in your family several copies of the “He did it for you” card that’s downloadable at the end of this post. I printed the four for each family member in black, and then printed each family member one gold card for extra special service.
• Encourage family members to serve secretly, one-by-one, leaving the cards behind as they go. The cards give all the glory to Christ and stand as a reminder that the ultimate service was done by Him.
• As family members receive cards from others, they can keep them or pass them on as they complete service for others … (In fact, this may lead to another family discussion about the parable of the talents!)
• On Easter morning, gather for reflection. Ask how it felt to serve. Ask how it felt to be served. Ask if anyone felt closer to the Savior.

Download the talented Heidi Swapp’s gorgeous and hand-lettered Easter messages here.  It’s a free gift from Heidi!
Plus, you can get them in gold too! Click here if you prefer to go gold.

You’ll see that there are many Easter-related phrases and scriptures. You can use them in a million ways to uplift and inspire during Easter season.
I will have another way to use them – all of them – on the blog soon. So stay tuned!

And I’d love to hear how you can use the printable, and the lesson in your day-to-day life. Please share!