The other day I was in Dollar Tree getting little things to fill up goody bags for an event I'm doing. I was going from aisle to aisle trying to find something that didn't have the Easter bunny plastered all over it. I know it was probably a stretch but couldn't they just have one thing with at least a cross on it? That's when I saw this woman in the aisle putting all sorts of Easter "crap" in her basket. Peeps, that annoying green grass that gets everywhere, plastic eggs, etc. She must have thought I was up to the same thing and she struck up a conversation with me.
"You must have forgot that Easter was next week, too."
I must have looked a little puzzled
"It's the only holiday that I always forget about it. But I have to have something for kids from the Easter Bunny. It's one that always sneaks up on you."
Now I wasn't puzzled, but my heart hurt.
Not because I was sad that she waited until the week before to get her kids baskets filled up, but because she "forgot" about the true meaning of Easter and it's incredible story. I would like to tell you that I told her what Easter was all about and as Christians the beautiful hope we have because of it. I wanted to tell her that because of what Christ did for us on that cross, we were free to come to places like Dollar Tree and buy useless junk. I wanted to say that because of what my Savior endured we would have life in Heaven with him forever.
But I didn't.
I politely smiled and continued walking.
Not one of my proudest moments, but then again it did make me think.
I grew up in a Christian home and Easter was always a big deal. Sure we got new dresses and my mom curled our hair in those spongy pink rollers but it wasn't a big deal because of these things . My mom would have some sort of pre Easter activity planned. I don't remember all of them but one in particular was when we made empty tomb cookies. We got to put all the ingredients in and then put them in the oven. We then sealed the oven, our "tomb" with tape to represent the tomb being sealed shut. The next morning, we got to remove the tape. The cookies were empty inside, just like the tomb was empty on the third day. It was awesome! I have all sort of memories like that throughout my childhood because I had a mom that took opportunities to teach us the most important lessons.
My point of this post was that I don't want to miss another opportunity like I did with that woman. I don't want Easter to "sneak" up on you. I don't want you to make it all about bunnies and peeps and dyed eggs. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I love doing fun stuff like that for my kids. But I can also guarantee you Keller knows what Easter is about. So here is my invitation to you. Join me for Easter this Sunday at Antioch Christian Church. Just come, don't makes excuses. Come and hear for yourself what really happened. Make this Sunday a priority.
Easter @ Antioch
4040 Maple (across the street from Walters Restaurant)
Pancake breakfast at 8:00 a.m. FREE
Service starts at 10:00 a.m.
Nursery is provided for 0-2 years
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