Easter - from several perspectives

The week leading up to Easter pre-occupied my mind with many things - very few of them really having to do with Easter. Our dryer gave out. We had to decide weather or not to register Clayton at Charter again. We needed to get tires changed out. A brother had a birthday. Tornadoes terrorized friends in the south.

Friday, we went to church, but I never made it to service because I served the first hour and had a missions team the second hour. Realizing I was going to want to go back on Sunday, so I could attend an Easter service, I picked up a shirt for Clayton (since he has nothing even close to appropriate) and hose for me (since I haven't had use for any in quite some time). We went to an egg hunt in the pooring rain and then came home and prepared for Easter lunch with friends and a birthday party with family.

Riley was dragging himself around and complaining of sore legs. We figured he was over-tired and needed a nap, but after his nap he was still dragging and complaining and saying his side hurt. We discovered he had almost a 104 fever, so we called triage at the children's hospital where he had his surgery and they advised we have him screened for a kidney infection. Several hours later, after the ER and a long wait for a prescription, we came home with the simple diagnosis of Strep - though his throat still doesn't hurt. We are extremely grateful that the odd symptoms had nothing to do with his kidneys, but highly contagious strep suddenly cancelled all of our Easter plans.

So...to all of you who are missing the days festivities for motherly duties, take heart! God still has a Word for you.

This morning, I cuddled up on the couch to watch the account of the crucifixion on our Matthew DVD. We had put it on for movie night Friday night, but noone stayed awake long enough for the crucifixion. Something new about the Easter story hits me every year. This year, I was struck by Jesus' grief in the garden.

I wondered what was really at the root of all of his deep grief. He said he was sorrowful to the point of death. He was sweating drops of blood and pleading with God the Father for this cup to pass from Him. I wondered what about all of this was causing such deep grief? He was God in the flesh. He knew all things and I believe had inner strength unlike anyone on earth.

1. Was He simply grieving over the dread of the torterous pain He was about to experience? I know I would, but I have a hard time believing that was really the major thing on His mind?
2. Was He grieving over knowing that the sins of all mankind - past, present, and future, would all be laid on Him....the guilt, the emotional sorrow, the sickness, the dirty feeling, the heart-pounding consequences. He knew no sin, and yet was about to experience all of the sin of the whole world. That had to be agonizing.
3. Then I wondered....if all of that wasn't enough, was He grieving because He knew that when all of that sin was on Him, He would be separated from His Father. Having never sinned, He knew no such separation. Everything He did, His Father did through Him. The were intimately and uniquely connected.

I've never experienced that kind of physical pain. I know what kind of grief and guilt and sickness overtakes me when I am sinning, but I can't imagine the weight of the sin of the world. What really strikes me, though, is that I often don't even sorrow over being disconnected from the Father. There are times that I feel disconnected, and just apathetically assume it is just a phase or a season that will pass. I'm not sure I truly grieve over it. But our perfect, innocent Jesus (I'm convinced), couldn't bear the thought of knowing He would be separated by sin from His Father, even for a short period of time.

Oh, how I want to be grieved by that.

Fun with the kids

Our fun little treat this year was to make cream puffs. They really are quite simple, and it is fun to tie some illustrations to them.

To make the dough:

Bring to a boil:

1/2 c. butter, 1 c. of water, and 1/8 t. salt

When it begins to boil, quickly stir in 1 c. flour until it forms a ball. Take it off the stove and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Then stir in four eggs, 1 at a time, until you have a smooth dough. Drop by small spoonfuls on to greased cookie sheets and bake for about 25 min. at 400 degrees (or until golden brown).

The kids will love seeing the little plops of dough puff up. Explain how they remind you of little tombs. Then cut the tops of and show that they are empty on the inside. (They may not be completely empty...and you will have to hollow them out a little).

We then used aerosol whipped cream and squirted them full and put their tops on. You can explain how we are so empty without Jesus, but He fills us up with good stuff. If you want, you can even go further when you put the tops on and explain how we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. Then simply sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with melted chocolate.