Day 64...New ways

Dear Sadie,

Easter has come and gone, and I think this one was my favorite one with you yet.  I’m learning, now after three years, that less is more, and that if you follow your heart (where Jesus is) you will have fun, and you won’t be running on empty.

Where do we get our traditions if not from the ways of our parents?  As branches of them blossoming into our new families, we honor them by taking those things we did growing up with us and we continue in some, leave some, adding to them or altering them in some way.  The most important thing is that the truth and beauty in them are preserved, assuming that there is any in them already.  As you know by now, I prefer the ordinary and everyday miracles that come to us unexpectedly over annual holidays.  The value is in the remembering, whenever that takes place for you, daily, monthly, and annually.  Remember Him as much as possible!  Whenever we plan there’s a pretty good probability that it’s going to be somewhat of a less than magical experience.   There’s a lot of good that comes out of planning and traditions, if you have the one key: the freedom to follow your heart. If your planning or tradition holds you back in some way, locks you in, makes you feel anxious, tied down, busy or overwhelmed, consider doing away with it.  Decide which systems soar into your heart with truth and beauty and cause you to glorify God, filling your heart with gratitude towards Him.  Personally, I find changing things up regularly keeps my heart in God-drive.

I grew up doing the Easter bunny thing, dying eggs, baskets full of goodies.  These were great memories for me.  My mom would go to great lengths hiding those eggs, and we greatly anticipated finding them in our rooms.  Fun is a good thing!  But today as a grown woman, my heart longs for more.  I do not want to get on a soapbox about a holiday or prove to anyone they are wrong in what they do.  I honestly believe that Jesus wants us to live freely and in accordance with His truth, and not much good comes out of arguing anyways.  So as my mind dwells on truth, beauty, glory and gratitude to God, I think it is safe to say that God inspired my heart to do a kind of unique activity with you that I think we will keep for now, as it helped me remain free and at peace during this holiday, simply fixing our eyes on Him and allowing Him to be all of the excitement we needed.  It is something that I think can grow with you as well.

We took a boiled egg and water-colored it black on “Good Friday.”  Symbolizing that Jesus bore all of our sin, sickness, death, disease, and darkness, we bruised the egg with our fingers and pierced it with nails.  Next we wrapped it in paper cloth and buried it in a shrub.  We told you to wait and see what happened to our “Jesus” on Sunday, Resurrection Day.  We waited with anticipation for that day to come, and see what we’d find, or not find.  You didn’t mind waiting two nights because you knew something special would happen on that third day.

Finally, Sunday morning arrived.  We walked down to the end of our driveway to the shrub where we left the battered egg buried.  Unlike the women at the tomb full of despair and grief, we looked with joyful anticipation, as this is the story we love to tell all year long, the story that set our hearts free!  We found the old egg gone, and in its place, a new and beautiful large plastic egg lying in sparkly iridescent grass with a silver crown lying beside it.  I could hear the words of the angel in my mind asking, “Why do you look for the dead among the living?”  Even though I was the one to replace the egg when no one was looking, I felt the power of those words sinking into my meditating heart.  The egg, clear on one side, was packed with silvery kisses, symbolizing His love for us, and a note that read: “Dear Family, I am alive!  I love you!  Now live freely in my love!  XOXO, Jesus.”

I love knowing that you will grow up and can be free to form your own traditions as the Spirit leads you.  I love knowing that if we don’t do exactly the same thing every year, God is not going to care.  I love knowing the fact that His love endures and He is not concerned with our doing, rather He cares about the state of our hearts being fully His.  I love that we don’t have to spend a lot of money and fill our calendar to have joy in the presence of God daily, filled with His everlasting love. 

Whatever traditions you choose, and daily living for that matter, may you follow His voice into truth, beauty, and live with gratitude to the glory of God.  Enjoy the journey, my special girl.

Love,
Mommy

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Romans 6:4