We who have everything, the gift of life, good health or at least access to good medical care, and loving family including fur babies, live in a day and time when we are surrounded by opinions. Some hold them fast, some hold them long and strong, and others are new to understanding and believing who they are and why they feel as they do.
When it comes to religion, many of us belong to a group that has a name that describes their faith. Some are Christians, others are Jews, still others are Muslims, and a list too long to name and be fully inclusive. As a group, there are subgroups to many of the religious followers that distinguish their group among the others. Yet, one commonality across all groups is an agreement to agree on faith as a practice of worship, following traditional values and tenets as history has carried them through.
For as many years as there has been agreement among groups with similar faiths, there have been groups equally as loud protesting that those same groups are wrong, misguided, and in fact, harmful. To a child learning about Christian Easter, Jewish Passover, and Muslim Ramadan, though, none of this is important. Not yet. The capacity of a child to understand faith is 100% learned by the example of the parents or loving adult caregivers of that child, who model what it is to believe in that faith.
For those who are raised in a church setting, it usually involves bringing your child to a church nursery while you worship in the sanctuary. After that stage, the youngsters old enough to begin to learn the lessons of life and loss and love begin to find understanding with each year. In the Christian faith, it might appear that the Easter bunny has ushered in a concept of “good news.”
In the 13th century, Time magazine tells us, is when people place the beginning of decorating eggs. During the Lenten season, congregants were asked to give up eating eggs. So, at the conclusion of Lent, eggs were decorated and exchanged. In the 1700’s, German immigrants arriving in America taught children to make little “nests” for where the bunny could lay its eggs. The baskets were decorated as were the eggs. Chocolate and candy soon followed.
In our family we are still at the basket, bunny, and the story in the Bible will follow as Rowen grows older. As eggs at one point represented new life, the color of purple represents the Lenten season and new life in Christ. Symbols representing God’s love abound throughout our daily lives. As we are in church, our children see our habits and patterns and respect for the traditions their parents taught them.
Every year we celebrate our holidays, as ours does Easter, we give ourselves a chance to be thankful to God for His son, for bringing us to know that beyond this life is a rejoining of love from our loved ones to be reunited with them, and to have everlasting life. It’s a gift to us, and it’s free for the asking. We get a clean slate each year with Easter as we can resolve to start over and try again in those areas of our life that might need attention.
We can take time to say “Good job” to our children to let them know we see their progress. We can say “thank you” to them each time they try to show you they want to please you. And most of all, we can listen when they want to chat. There’s nothing more precious than the voice of your child sharing love and laughter with you.
May this Holy season bring you closer to hearing God’s voice that guides you on your journey ahead. May there be peace and quiet and may any discontent be dissolved by reason rather than loud anger. May we experience healing in all the areas of our world that need it. May we know we are blessed with the gift of life we have been given each day. Happy Easter to all of you and your families from our family.
Cody D. Jones ‘02
Owner & Community Member
