Easter musings

Today is Easter Sunday. At Church, pastor talked about the resurrection of Christ and what it means for you and me. To illustrate his point, he showed not less than six video clips from 2004's The Passion of Christ to the more recent 2017 The Case for Christ. I suppose the only way to drive home the point to millennials now is to show them movies. Speak their language, we always say.

After Church we had lunch with the grandparents. Lunch always feels like a battle these days because the kids are starting to prefer food. Sarah is notoriously picky. You'll have to plead for an average time of 15 minutes before she opens her mouth for a vegetable. She's also becoming overly dramatic lately when expressing what she wants. Right after lunch, she demands to go in one of those bouncy castles in the middle of the mall. Of course, we couldn't go in because last night's rain rendered the castles unusable. As far as she's concerned, this silly fact cannot hinder her stubborn desire. Facts must bend to her feelings. Drama queen.

"Good attitude, or I will spank you."

That settled it.

It's been a long week of healthy food eating care of the chef of the house - my wife. So I figured since it's Sunday, we can treat ourselves to donuts. I grabbed my family to the donut place nearby and made Sarah pick one donut to share. In our family, we share everything. Very seldom are you entitled to one donut.

So she picked the pinkest donut she can find (Heaven Berry, it was called). Banne ordered coffee and a glazed donut. Ethan did not have a say on the matter. Off they went looking for seats while I paid. And then I splurged buy frozen yogurt with almonds, mango (kids favorite) and strawberry toppings. I deserved it.

I was told the yogurt won't be done in a while, so I rejoined my family with two donuts on the tray. To kids it does not matter if you give them 5 or 10 or 25 donuts. If you come bearing one donut, they'll scream their delight just the same.

I gave each one a fork (even Ethan) and we attacked the donuts in maybe 3 minutes flat. Which of course made Sarah sad. And before another Oscar-winning performance commenced, I said the frozen yogurt will be coming soon.

There has never been a face that transitioned from gloom to joy in such a short time! It was hilarious. She went straight from crossing her arms and pouting to raising her arms in victory. Night and day!

Then the frozen yogurt came and we descended upon it like locust. Ethan survived, I am happy to report.

I suppose all of us instinctively feel there is inherent sadness with things ending. We hate the ending of a long week-end vacation. We dread when love turns sour and curtains fall on a romance. No one, and this is fact, has ever dealt with the reality of death with grace. Things, like Sarah's donut are bound to run out. And that yogurt that comes after? It will run out too.

God knows this. And on that fateful Easter Sunday more than two thousand years ago, He did something about it. He rose from the dead. It was God mocking at what we all know to be the most final finality. He shed off his burial linens, and rose from the dead. Thereby giving all of us - Sarah, myself, you and your loved ones - the hope that things will never have to end.