Well, darn, I haven’t posted since before Easter. It’s been a while! Easter was a joyous celebration at Westminster. I offered the Time of Discovery (children’s message) at both of our worship services, and also taught Sunday school twice. On all four occasions, when I asked the kids what came to mind when they thought about Easter, their first responses were candy, bunnies, chocolate, and egg hunts. Only after I observed that these were all secular observances did the kids respond, “Oh, yeah. Easter is about Jesus and an empty tomb!” My own two-year-old son now knows all about the Easter bunny and eggs filled with candy, but doesn’t yet know the story of Jesus’ empty tomb.
I write all of this not to bash the secular celebrations of Easter. I love Easter egg hunts! I am just sharing the observation about what seems to be most important in the minds of kids on Easter . . . and it isn’t Jesus!
This isn’t just about Easter, either. Recognizing the sacred in our often very secular lives is a practice that most all of us probably overlook from time to time. Yes, we know (or at least I hope we know) that God is always present in our lives. But are we regularly, frequently, consciously aware of God’s presence? I hope you will take some time to appreciate, and give thanks for, the many ways God is present in your life.
