Easter 2014 was such a memorable day for me. I can’t recall a more exciting Easter since my childhood.
My earliest memories of Easter include sunrise service at church, new pants that came with a belt and eating hard-boiled eggs all day long. This year was a little different but full of joy and reflection.
It started out on Easter Eve as my wife and I met the Easter Bunny at Tiger Town to let him know what Emily, our 7-year-old, wanted in her basket. After finding a Hobby Lobby label on one of her toys, I told Emily that the old bunny sometimes has to purchase Easter basket items at retail stores, because unlike other iconic gift givers, he doesn’t have an abundance of toy making helpers, although I still find that a bit odd. He is a rabbit, after all. It seems that he should have multiple crews of little rabbits at his beck and call.
She also taught me a few things about the Easter Bunny. Neither Peter Cottontail nor Peter Rabbit are the Easter Bunny. They are different rabbits, altogether. Who knew?
Emily woke us up bright and earlier with her Easter basket in hand. It was so beautiful seeing such a happy child standing there full of joy. She immediately began pulling out the contents to show them to us, and I was full of joy when she voluntarily shared her chocolate with us. Emily is a sweet kid. She wanted to go outside and blow bubbles, but it was still way too early for bubble blowing activities to commence.
The plan was to attend the final Easter service of the day at church. We each put on our Sunday best and were ready to go. As always, my wife was stunning. Emily was super cute, and I looked OK, too. My belt even matched my shoes, which elicited an “attaboy” from my lovely wife. We got all dressed up but had nowhere to go because there was a mix-up with respect to the times of the final services.
We needed somewhere to go, so we drove to Starbucks. Nothing quite brings out the true meaning of Easter like a five dollar cup of coffee. It’s up there with bunny rabbits and eggs.
Before taking a sip from our coffees or a bite from our snack, we made a toast and said “He is risen,” remembering the true meaning of this day.
We later went to my mother-in-law’s house for Easter dinner, and boy was it divine. Once again, we remembered the true meaning of this day; once again, Emily wanted to go outside and blow bubbles. Bubble blowing activities commenced.
Then we went home for a bit to check on the dogs, only to discover that the dogs had their own Easter celebration. They had gotten into Emily’s candy and had a field day with it. We are still finding wrappers around the house.
The day was capped off with an old-fashioned Easter egg hunt. Well, perhaps not old-fashioned, but an Easter egg hunt nonetheless. The eggs were plastic and filled with coins or candy. When I was a kid, we used mostly real eggs that were filled with real egg.
Easter 2014 will stand out primarily as my first Easter as a husband and as a father, but, as with each Easter, it will stand out as a time of reflection.
He died so that we might live.
He was buried but, according to the Scriptures, rose again the third day. I believe He still lives today. As the song goes,
“Because he lives, I can face tomorrow
Because he lives, all fear is gone
Because I know, He holds the future
And life is worth the living, just because he lives.”
I just hope next year, my family can arise before the final service.
Jody Fuller can be reached at jody@jodyfuller.com
