He is Risen
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Matthew 28:6
Don’t get me wrong Easter is one of my favorite times of year because let’s get real: the joy of our children as they find the hidden plastic eggs, the egg coloring, and the new crisp Easter Sunday outfits are just magical. But it can be frustrating as a Christian mom in a world where we commercialize the greatest event in all of history. It’s the apex of our humanity and the path that was paved for us to receive salvation.
‘Mom, why don’t we get a lot of candy in our Easter baskets?’
‘Mom, why don’t we visit the Easter Bunny?’ (First of all, I’ve visited that dang bunny as a child, and let me tell you it was traumatizing…so I feel like I’m saving my kids on this one!)
‘Mom, do bunnies lay eggs? I mean you eat the bunny chocolate eggs but don’t only chickens lay eggs for Easter?’
For heaven’s sake I could go on and on with the questions I’ve received over the years from my kids about Easter but they are finally at an age where things are clicking about the true meaning of Easter!
But goodness gracious it’s April 5th and we are just 12 days away from the most beautiful three words…HE IS RISEN! Yet, I feel like with the “end of the pandemic”, the jam-packed schedules, the not back to normal yet status of our lives that we are a little behind on really diving into the story of betrayal, vengeance, sin, atonement, and prophecy. Yes! We do discuss these heavy topics with our kids because we don’t need to shelter them from the truth but we also realize that we need to be able to speak to them at their age level. Remember, we’ve got an 8-year-old, 6-year-old, and a 2-year-old…
For the last 28 days, we have participated in lent and the kids received the most amazing coloring packet from our church to lead them, and us, through lent. Now the fun stuff starts with going through the various stages of the story and diving deeper into Christ’s last days here on earth. This year I purchased the Resurrection Eggs off of Amazon because I wanted a guided, age-appropriate lesson for the three kids. Let me tell you it is AMAZING! It allows us to help the kids see, touch, and hear the story of Easter based on the biblical account, not the world’s account.
We will spend time with them and help them answer and think through the greatest sacrifice Jesus made for us. I love the resurrection eggs because it also helps you as a parent guide your child to Christ by keeping it simple…yes, KEEP. IT. SIMPLE.
Grow Your Faith with Free Resources
Another thing we love to do as a family is listening to music ALL DAY and reading! So, with this season I created a Spotify playlist of my favorite artists and songs that just speak to me and our family. You can listen hear! Some of the books we purchased for their Easter baskets…of course, we do baskets. I'm not going to deprive my kids of something I had growing up, are listed here and are great resources for simple understanding and meaning to the reason behind this season.
I know it can be frustrating and at times seem like we are in a losing battle against our culture but remember when we put on the full armor of God we are able to fight against that which has turned our sacred day into a commercialized holiday.