Easter Bunny Bypass

It is that time of year again where parents find themselves in a merry-go-round of faith, logic and emotion.
To quote my husband, "Easter is the most important day of the whole year!" As Christians, Easter is the day that trumps all other days. Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ there really is no point to Christianity. So when it comes to celebrating Easter... it is kind of a big deal to us.
Growing up, my parents definitely put a lot of emphasis on Easter. One thing that they did was separate celebrating Spring from celebrating Easter. We did all those fun things like decorating eggs, baskets filled with goodies and finding the eggs all on the First Day of Spring (or close to it). Then when it came closer to Easter we could focus on the meaning of it as a family.
Another thing that happened in my childhood around Eastertime was the first of my major surgeries. I was only 10 and it was a major and painful surgery (Pectus Escavottum). (My chest cavity grew inwards and was restricting my lungs and pushing my heart up into my shoulder.) My friends and family were so sweet and also worried and they showered me with gifts-- because of the season it was lots of little bunny figurines and little chicks and sweet pastel colored things. I really enjoyed the gifts, but now they are forever connected with times of great pain and days in the hospital. It is so interesting how much seeing those things really take me back to that time.
I am not sad that all these bunny rabbits and cutesie Easter decorations are synonymous with pain for me. It sends my mind on a direct path back to the cross. The pain I felt did not compare to the pain that Jesus endured on the cross. However, it did teach me about the meaning of pain. I could not believe that someone went through that much pain for me. It also gave me a glimpse at the meaning of separation at that young age. I was separated from my friends because I could not play with them for months. I couldn't be hugged or bumped because there was nothing protecting my heart. (The cartilage in my sternum had been removed so that it would regrow in a new shape that left more room for my heart and lungs.) The separation I felt in no way compares to the great separation that Jesus endured as God turned his back on him, when he took on the sins of the world. But what I experienced made me think about how Jesus must of felt.
I believe that culturally all the bunnies and chicks are meant to soften something grotesque. It is hard to think about Jesus being crucified on the cross. None of us want to face the fact that we are sinners and that Jesus died because of things that we have done.
So we try to paint the scene at Golgotha in pinks and yellows. We have a lovable bunny character bounce from house to house and give our kids candy. But in the end all the "Easter extras" are like spraying lilac scented air freshener in a stinky bathroom-- it smells like lilacs but it still smells like poop. So the question has to be asked-- is it improved? All this to say, we have to acknowledge our sin and face the cross straight on because our attempts to sidestep it or candy coat it get us nowhere.
So here I am, a mother of two sweet babes. I want to above all teach them to know Jesus. But, I also want to preserve their innocence and not overburden them before they can process and respond properly. I don't want them to grow up feeling deprived of fun and excitement.
So with much prayer we move forward at Eastertime--teaching, playing and most of all rejoicing that we have a Father in heaven who loved us so much He sent his one and only Son to die in our place, so that we could live with God forever in heaven and be guided through this life on Earth by His Holy Spirit.