Life Moments: Behold He is Risen

It’s still dark outside, but Mother says, “Get up.” Easter morning has come and we have a walk ahead of us. When the sun comes up, we will be on a cold, windy hill with a group of people from our church attending our sunrise service. Blankets are placed in the wagon and we take turns pulling it through the darkness.

That’s one of my first memories of what Easter was about. I don’t remember anything that was said … just how very cold I was. And then we had that long walk home.

Years later, when it was up to me to make memories with my children, I wanted to create some special ones for Easter. We dyed the eggs, but before dipping them in the coloring, we set aside four eggs. Since I had three children, we each wrote on one egg. The word Behold was placed in one color, the word He we placed in the purple, the word Is went in another color and the last word Risen would go in the yellow. We let them set for a long time to make the color brilliant.

When the eggs were dry, we placed them in a nest of Easter grass … pronouncing BEHOLD HE IS RISEN. Early Easter Sunday morning, we would go to someone’s doorstep and leave our gift. One year the kids wanted to take it to the pastor’s house. Later that morning, during his sermon, the preacher mentioned that he happened to see the Easter bunny come to his door that morning.

We hid the eggs over and over. One year we couldn’t find one of them. This was not good, since I had allowed them to hide the eggs in the house. Of course we found it weeks later, but that was the last year they hid them inside.

When the last egg had been hidden and discovered, we would take our eggs to a park. When you don’t have much money, you tend to be a little more creative in ways to find enjoyment. I devised a game called Demolition Derby. You get the picture. We would sit in a circle and roll the eggs at each other. The harder you rolled, the mightier the crash. First the shell would shatter and bits and pieces fall away. Soon we would be down to the yolk … laughing and having a great time. Clean up was a little messy, but worth it.

Most importantly, I wanted them to understand the real meaning of Easter wasn’t about a fancy dress or new shoes for church. The Easter bunny and Easter baskets under the bed were enjoyable, but not a reason for celebration. The true meaning was those four words on the eggs.