Happy Bunny...I mean...Jesus...I mean...Easter!? HUH?

Ok, so it was Easter this past weekend. When I was a kid my Mom made Easter baskets for us and hid them in the house for us to find. The best one I remember was not actually a basket, but a big orange Tupperware bowl with a Cinderella Barbie doll in it, (my favorite Disney princess) along with lots of other treats; I remember it was hidden under the table/dresser thingy in the front room, I was so thrilled to see that doll! Then we got dressed in our new Easter dresses, I remember the blue one with the ribbons striped down the front. I remember some Easter that we wore little hats as well, but I don't think it was the same year.

So we went to an Easter egg roll/hunt at the park last week and got lots of candy and then this Sunday the boys got Easter baskets filled with candy eggs and little velveteen rabbits. We dyed eggs in the kitchen, and Izaiah dyed his little fingers yellow. Izaiah happily accepted that the Easter bunny came down the chimney and filled his basket with treats because he was a good boy.(We figured the EB and Santa could have the same M.O.)

So where does Christ fit into all of this? My friend Melissa gave an excellent talk on Sunday about the sacrifice that Christ made for us and it has made me think about my relationship with Christ from God's perspective as a parent. I can't even think about my boys being in pain without feeling all antsy, so trying to equate what God must have been feeling as he watched his perfect son be tortured and killed is not something I like to think about. We don't even have a name for a parent who has lost a child, I think because it is such a horrible thing we can't categorize it. While I have my own reservations about organized religion and the cultural expectations placed upon me, I can not deny that Easter always resonates the reason that we follow the religious rules. These sweet darling boys were placed in my care, to teach and edify them, to love them as Christ loves them.

I think the bunnies and eggs are like a new start, a renewal and reminder of God's never ending love for us. Just as faith is like a little seed, God's love is like the spring, always there, always ready to dazzle us with the simplicity of renewing nature and humble us with the miracle of life. My faith was supported a little this weekend and reminded me that in everything there is a time and season, and God is always with me and will wait for me. I love Spring flowers with their delicate pastel petals and sweet simple smells that herald the end of the bare branches of winter. This is why spring is my favorite time of year, after the long months of clouds and cold and rain, I love to see daffodils.