By Kelsie Petersen
Easter is my favorite holiday. It hasn’t always been, however; Christmas was traditionally my favorite holiday, as it seems to be for many people. Perhaps my love of Christmas was left over from a childhood where the delight of Christmas morning stockings and of a tree well-stocked with gifts made happy memories each year.
As I came to understand the New Covenant more deeply over the first several years after leaving Adventism, however, Easter has become the holiday that I find myself most deeply anticipating. As my children grow older, I now find myself searching more each year for how to make this holiday meaningful and memorable for them, as well. In the months that have passed since this last Christmas, I’ve found myself thinking more and more about the idea of these “holy days” and how they find their PLACE in the life of a Believer.
As the mom of three young boys, there is certainly still much anticipation and excitement in our house in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Decorating, Christmas carols, baking, and shopping for gifts still occupy a fair portion of our calendar. Celebrating Christmas in this way is something that comes easily to me, because these are the things I loved growing up. Now, however, in addition to the busyness of the season, my growing in my understanding of the New Covenant has also deepened my appreciation for the Christmas “holy day.”
Every year now I continue to look for ways to highlight for my children the beauty and wonder of the incarnation and birth of the Lord Jesus. I want them to understand how that miracle paved the way for His ultimate sacrifice on the cross and for His glorious resurrection on that Easter Sunday. This theological emphasis at Christmas takes some intentionality on my part, and I have to admit it: it comes to me less naturally than the other aspects of holiday celebration. This difficulty frustrates me, but I try to remind myself that, just like my children, I am still growing and learning in many areas of my life.
As last Christmas passed and my mind started wandering towards the holidays and events of the next few months, I started to think about Easter. While it is my favorite holiday, I feel a bit like I have still not quite figured out how to mark the season and the day in my home. We talk about Holy Week (most years, if I’m being honest), and I have tried to take moments to talk with the boys on Good Friday about the significance of the day. We go to church on Easter Sunday, and I try to have a special meal to celebrate, but even that effort has often been in vain. As I’ve thought about these things, I’ve had to face the reality that while I FEEL the significance of Easter deeply, to any outside observer, and even to my own children, they would certainly assume that Christmas was the most important holiday in our home. This incongruence between what I feel on the inside and what is visible on the outside is not what I want for my family.
Preparing for Easter
Every year when Easter decorations and treats begin to fill store shelves in my town, I begin to look, once again, for items that I can use as an outward expression of my anticipation and excitement. Every year I’ve found myself frustrated and empty handed (although perhaps my bank account has benefited). Bunnies, eggs, and chicks are in good supply—and while there is nothing wrong with a cute, fluffy chick, or a fuzzy bunny rabbit, they’re not what I’m after. I’ve hunted on Pinterest, on Facebook pages that I follow, and I’ve even resorted to a Google search for decorations or crafts to represent Jesus’ sacrifice and the power of the empty tomb.
There are some good ideas that I tell myself I might try “next year” if I remember, but by the point that I finish my searching, I’m usually running out of time. Not only am I out of time, but I’m also exasperated because nothing has really seemed to hit the mark, to capture the depth of the beauty and awe I want to express.
I began to wonder if I was just over-thinking the whole thing. After all, I have been known to over think from time to time—OK, daily. What is the answer? How do I make Easter into something significant that my children can know and anticipate each year (even if there aren’t stockings, or a tree, or presents)?
The answer has been rolling around in my brain for several weeks now, and I think I’ve come to a conclusion. While I would still like to decorate more, to have outward ways of marking the season, of making it a celebration of New Life, I think the key to making Easter more significant lies in the 364 (or so) days leading up to Easter Sunday. The answer is “Jesus, every day.”
Jesus of Sabbath vs. Jesus of Easter
As a person who grew up in a legalistic system, a culture in which what counted was what was OBSERVABLE about me—what I did and how I looked rather than what I believed, I wonder if the key to imparting to my kids the wonder and beauty of Easter Sunday is simply to teach them—to show them every single day—who He is and what He did for all of us? This idea seems painfully obvious, but it is a difficult task.
I mentioned earlier that highlighting the Christmas story during the Christmas season takes some purposeful effort on my part. How much more intentionality will it take for me to purposely teach and show the Gospel message and the person of Lord Jesus to my kids every day?
I wish I could be super-spiritual and say that it is a natural daily thing for me. The truth is, while some days I do succeed in magnifying the Lord Jesus to my boys, many days I do not. I find myself caught up in the franticness of my life as a mom, a homeschooler, a business owner, and all of the other hats I wear. But the truth is, this focus on the sufficiency of Jesus is what I NEED. This is what THEY need.
Now I sit here at my kitchen table, wondering if I am possibly the only one who feels this way, the only person who even needs to realize this need to be actively teaching my kids—and myself—the gospel of Jesus every day. Maybe most of you reading this are thinking, “Well, DUH!!”
Of course, it is my desire to teach my children to know and love the Lord Jesus, but tying this idea directly to Easter has really been a revelation for me. Adventism taught me that Jesus was for Sabbath. Of course, we didn’t drink or smoke or drink coffee (My family were BADventists, so meat was often on our table). Jesus, however, was relegated to Sabbath, family worship (how many stories have I heard of guilt-ridden parents who never felt that they “made” this happen often enough?) and studying our Sabbath School Lesson (I don’t know about you, but very few kids in any of the Sabbath School classes I attended had ever “done” their lessons when we met on Saturday mornings). If one went to Adventist schools, there was also Bible class, and then perhaps a discussion with Mom or Dad when one needed a reminder of what Jesus expected of us.
Easter in Adventism was mostly about showing that Jesus had kept the Sabbath, even in death, by resting in the tomb! In other words, we Adventists often grew up thinking that Jesus mostly wanted us to follow the diet rules and keep the Sabbath. Aside from those two practices, it seemed that we could go on with life—until one started thinking about the Investigative Judgement and the Time of Trouble, but that’s another blog piece, entirely!
My point is that, with good reason, the Lord Jesus and the Gospel were not part of our daily lives as Adventists. We could put on a good show on a Sabbath morning or in the office or at school when someone invited us to a Friday night movie or offered us a cup of coffee, but the beauty of Easter that we can have every day now, as Believers, was not available to us.
So, here I am, just days away from Easter, and I have already visited the dollar stores multiple times, still hoping for something that I can purchase for decoration or to use as an activity to do with my children, or even for something I can modify to portray the beauty of the risen Christ. Once again, I have come up empty handed. I have a few DIY things that I still have time to pull together, and I have already spent time moving my children’s focus to the upcoming celebration.
My parents will visit this year for the holiday weekend, and I am determined to have a special meal. The biggest lesson I’m taking away from this Easter, however, will be the 357 days until next Easter. My hope is to put a little bit of Easter into each and every one of those days, so when THE day to celebrate comes next year, our hearts will all be more full than ever with love and thankfulness for the grace and mercy we have because of the cross. †
- Now I Love Communion - May 25, 2023
- Can You Be an Accidental Christian? - March 30, 2023
- Boast in the Lord! - February 2, 2023