Jesus is ALIVE! Full stop.
It’s simple, right? Jesus was victorious over death, and that victory is now shared with those of us who trust and believe in Him. Christ’s death and resurrection is at the very center of our faith. As parents, it’s easy to put pressure on ourselves to make holidays the perfect experience for our children. There’s already overwhelming expectations from every angle of parenting, and even more so when we want to achieve a Pinterest-worthy holiday or birthday. Among the traditions of egg hunts and stuffing our mouth with chocolate, there are also added responsibilities for Christian parents who want to emphasize the true meaning of Easter.
How can we balance the sacred and secular?
Just as Christmas for many of us is a balance between Santa and the birth of Jesus, much of the same applies to Easter. My greatest advice? Keep it simple.
As parents, we can often see the bigger picture. We have a different, eternal perspective! I think most (if not all) of us would agree that this past year has helped solidify that perspective. It has been an incredibly difficult twelve months for so many. As things are beginning to turn around, I am trying to look at the blessings of last year. Almost all of them center around time spent with family, the health and well-being of our loved ones, slowing down, and realizing that I had too much on my plate. If I keep my focus on the eternal, rather than the temporary or unimportant, it helps keep my focus where it should be.
In 1 Timothy 4:7-8 (NLT), Paul writes,
Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be Godly. “Physical training is good, but training for Godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”
One of my most important jobs is helping in the spiritual training of my children. Our kids may remember some of the “fun” we did to celebrate, but the eternal message of WHY we celebrate Easter is what will remain with them for a lifetime.
- Take the pressure off and have grace for yourself. Now, it’s important for me say: I feel mom guilt every time I think I haven’t done enough “stuff.” However, I’m trying to embrace that my celebration may not look like what other families do, and that’s okay!
- Don’t be afraid of stepping back from what you’ve done before. The Gospel is simple, and I think Easter can be the same. You do not have to celebrate the same way every year, so try new things.
- Find ways to mix your bunnies and the message of the cross. I really do believe that Easter baskets, gifts, and bunnies can be celebrated alongside the cross and the resurrection of Christ. My encouragement to you this year is to spend time praying about what that looks like. Maybe that means keeping your favorite traditions but adding something biblical to it. It could be as simple as putting a book about Jesus in their basket this year. Maybe while dyeing eggs, you make some resurrection eggs to go with it. (We save ours so we just have to pull them out instead of making new ones each year.) Maybe while talking about welcoming in spring and decorating with bunnies, you can talk about how God created the world through Jesus, which makes spring the perfect picture of our new life in Christ. When you’re making your bunny cake, make some resurrection rolls too!
- Make Easter a celebration of the Holy Week. You could do a family Bible study throughout all of Holy Week, much like you’d do during advent. Download Darkness to Light – Preparing Your Family For Easter to use with your family this Holy Week.
One of the easiest ways we’ve made Easter come alive in our family is actually something I stole from my sister. We turn out the lights after Good Friday church service and leave them off until Sunday morning. It gives us so many opportunities to talk about how the greatest Light in the world was temporarily extinguished and how dark it would have been if that were the end of the story. Plus, the kids think it’s hilarious to go potty by candlelight!😉 The JOY on Sunday morning as we celebrate that the light of Christ hasn’t gone anywhere is one of my favorite moments! This tradition doesn’t cost a penny, isn’t time-consuming, and requires no preparation or craftiness. It also works well for every age so it can grow with your kids each year.
Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you as you re-examine where your focus will be this year. My husband and I take inventory each year and come up with a loose plan. What worked? What didn’t? What was a disaster to try with toddlers? How can we use this as an opportunity to connect with our kids and also point to Jesus?
I am praying for you as you prepare for this special season. May your family feel the hope of Easter and experience the love of Christ in a new way.
