“Mom, I want THAT for Easter!”
My daughter pointed to a giant easter basket filled with candy and a bright pink bunny. We were in the grocery store, and they had found the Easter Isle.
Is it just me or do Easter baskets get bigger every year?
“Why don’t you pick out what fruit you want for the week.” I said, motioning them in the opposite direction in an effort to distract them.
As we made it to the produce section, I thought, “I hope they know there is so much more to Easter than a bunny and eggs.”
Being a mom, trying to navigate Easter, is hard. How do you balance the fun of baskets, egg hunts, and bunny photos while trying to get their minds to understand Easter is really about how Jesus saved us?
We compare ourselves to Mom’s on social media. Maybe we need to do more Easter crafts, make a bigger Easter basket, find a better-looking Easter bunny. (Let’s be honest, last year’s was scary!)
If we aren’t careful, we can be more focused on what’s inside their Easter eggs than what’s inside their hearts.
And maybe we dismiss our own hearts and how Jesus died for us too.
When we focus so much on how to fit Jesus into Easter, we forget that the only reason we have Easter is BECAUSE of Jesus.
You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive in Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14, NLT)
His love for us is unfathomable! He willingly went to the cross because he knew that was the only way to save us from our sins.
Last year, we had a total solar eclipse in Texas. I remember the excitement in my children’s smiles as they peered through their eclipse glasses, gazing at the sun. I will never forget the moment when the sky went from bright and sunny to pitch black. I can only imagine this was how it felt when Jesus took his last breath on the cross and the sky went dark.
All eyes were looking at the eclipse that day, just as all eyes were looking at the cross, realizing he was God in the flesh.
So, dye the eggs, paint the flowers, but don’t miss out on the opportunities to share the resurrection story with your children in the process. Tell them how much God loves them and how he had to die on the cross to save us from our sins so we could be with him forever. Tell them Easter brings hope and new beginnings, and that we can talk to him about anything.
Don’t just take them to church and pray that’s enough.
Share YOUR HEART – how God saved YOU!
Before I drop my kids off at school, I always turn to them and ask, “What do you say?” And they both echo in unison: “God, it’s your day, I’m your (man/girl) let’s go for it!”
This week, after they said this, my daughter smiled really big and said, “I told someone about God yesterday!” Fighting back tears I asked, “What did you say?” “That God loves her! She didn’t know about God.” She explained.
Our kids are listening. What are we telling them?
This Easter, I’m reminded that the greatest gift I can give my kids is sharing the resurrection story with them and embracing its profound meaning in my own heart. It’s ok if they don’t wake up to a basket! 😊
So, whether you’ve read it once or a thousand times, I pray that you will see it anew as you reflect on His words and share it with your own children.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3, NIV)
MEET THE AUTHOR
Tricia Rodriguez, mom of two, is a guest writer for Gather Moms. She writes weekly devotionals on her blog, Here At The Well.
