April 17th - Easter Sunday!
/He is Risen!
The day we get to shout (or at least raise our voices) in church, once a year, and, conveniently, on a morning when many of us were riding the residual energy of a rare morning sugar rush instead of breakfast. For those of you who weren’t in church on Sunday, my kids were a bit unruly because they were so excited to see their aunts, uncles, and cousins all in the same place as Grammy and Gramps (not absolving myself from the candy we all ate before church). I smiled inwardly as I fixed my children with “the mom look” that has been so expertly handed down to me from my mom. Even though I used that talent to remind my children that we are in church, I could hardly begrudge them the feeling that is with us all every Easter morning. There is hope, joy, celebration, songs of praise, and the feeling of being with family. My prayer for all of you is that you feel as hopeful and as blessed to be part of the family of Rockdale Lutheran, of course as well as the family of God.
As a working (and student) mom, I find that I miss the opportunity to talk about God and the Bible (as well as a host of other things) as much as I would like to. Fortunately, children are delightfully inquisitive, and when I do get the chance to talk about these things, they are so engaged in learning. On Sunday morning as we were getting ready, the boys were playing caterpillars wrapped up in blankets, inching around the house with their Easter treats. I was reminded of a pair of butterfly earrings I had, and I asked the boys, “why do you think we wear butterflies and look for eggs on Easter?” I told them a much-shortened version of The Story and explained the visual analogies as well as covering the reminders of spring and growing things, as briefly as I could. As usual, their eyes glazed over a bit and they continued to play, but like with any growing things, you can’t have stems and leaves without planting the seeds and allowing roots to grow.
Keep the hope of Easter and Spring in your hearts as we endure the last desperate, clutching grip of Winter. Summer is coming and Jesus is Risen, indeed!
