4/1/07

This morning we attended a new church. We've grown tired of 'church shopping', but the process is necessary if we are ever to find a church family to join. I would say the church we attended this morning was better than the others we have tried. It was refreshingly contemporary and laid-back. The Pastor seems like a no-frills type of guy who is able to get up and deliver a message without too much pomp and circumstance. The people were friendly, and we felt we had a shoe in the door because we had been invited to try this church. That is to say, Nick was invited to try the church (and bring his family). Nick met Mark and Crystal (church-attendees aka the music pastor and his wife) through Starbucks. They are a fun couple with two kids...their son isn't much older than Nathan. The church provides doughnuts, and Nathan indicated to me that this might be a sign from the Lord that we indeed belong at Bridgeway Fellowship.

The focus during this time of year is, of course, Easter. Easter is such a holiday of opposites: Death and Life, Sorrow and Joy. It is hard to know how to approach the season. Is it a celebration or a time for mourning? And each year I find myself wondering, would I have been among those waving palm branches, or would I have been among those chanting 'Crucify!' Would I have been both places? We humans can be so fickle. I don't know what I would have been doing if I were alive 2,000+ years ago for the first Easter, but the good news is that I am certain of one thing: I would have been among those that Jesus died for...and among those He lives for.

Having children puts a new perspective on everything. Last year was Nathan's first Easter. I don't have a scrapbook for Nathan for several reasons. One, I take no pleasure in making myself like the paparazzi and following my son around with my camera flashing. Two, I'd rather not spend my money on overpriced cardstock, stickers, and those scissors that cut fancy edges on paper. (I was advised years ago by a person much older and wiser than me to use my money to have experiences and not to document them.) But last, and maybe most importantly, I would hate to use my time in this manner. I've read that many children will suffer greatly as a result of the 'scrapbook generation.' I could further develop this thought, but really it's just a bunny trail anyway. What I do have for Nathan is just a little diary of my thoughts about life, love, God, and the wonderful gift that Nathan is to me. I add a little thought now and then, and last Easter I sat down and wrote to Nathan about Easter. Here are my thoughts:

"4/15/2006 Sweet Boy, Tomorrow is Easter Sunday--Happy 1st-ever Easter! Do you know about Easter? It is the holiday to trump all holidays. Easter might not be as fun as some other holidays, but that is because it is the most special, the most serious. 2,000+ years ago, Easter was the day that proved the skeptics' folly, that called Pilot's error, and that confirmed the authenticity of a radical. Easter was the culmination of the life and work of Jesus Christ--33 years on earth..., a gruesome death, and the first-ever self-enabled resurrection. All for you, my Little Bug. And all for Mommy. And since Jesus was the only diety ever to provide sufficient propitiation for our sin, and since every other major religion on earth feels a need to explain Jesus away (he was a 'good man', a 'good teacher', a 'prophet'), and since truth, by definition must exclude...I have chosen to stake my faith on Jesus Christ who claimed to be the ONLY way, the ONLY truth, and the ONLY life. Sweet Peejers, Easter is not bunnies, eggs, candy, or those marshmallow Peeps. It is serious, and it is holy, and it is for us to decide--if the events of 2,000 years ago are truth, then what will we do with Jesus? We can't ignore Him...we have to decide. Make your choice carefully...it is your decision to make. On a lighter note, this will be my best Easter ever. You make life wonderful, little boy! You have my kisses forever--even when you get big enough to think they're icky! Mommy"

Thank goodness for Easter. What a display of grace of mercy we find when we think about the cross. And thank goodness that Nathan doesn't think Mommy's kisses are icky...yet!