the treasure hunt...

Soooo, do any other parents out there find the holidays hard to navigate?

As in: 'what message do we want our kids receiving'?

Because Christmas and Easter are the two most significant celebrations in the Christian faith.

Yet, they're also the most commercialised and confusing in our culture.

I wonder if our kids simply see this as yet another event that rewards them with gifts?

Chocolate eggs, fancy outfits and feasting with family has all of 'what' to do with the betrayal, death and resurrection of Jesus exactly...?

(By the way, NO, that wasn't a guilt trip for anyone).  

Do we get so distracted with the superficial frivolities... that we neglect the deeper spiritual truths?  I pray that isn't the case.  

Because sure, we all love to eat a good fistful of chocolate on any day, but a sugar rush doesn't feed our soul.

I want our family to feed on the real sweetness:

the Bread of Life.

The words of Christ, and the Christ of the Word.

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So today we hid the Resurrection eggs all around the back yard for the kids to hunt.

Each colourful plastic egg held a small emblem inside.

A simple piece of the Easter story narrative.

The broken bread - Christ's body.

The coins - His betrayal by Judas.

The whip - Christ's beatings.

The robe - His mockers.

The thorns - His crown.

The nails - His suffering.

The cross... and more.

And it hit me afresh.

Just as Ben, the kids 'Daddy' hid these eggs around the yard today.

God, our heavenly 'Daddy' has left us gifts to find too.

Just as these symbols tucked in the eggs pointed to the gospel message, 

so all of history - all the stories in the Bible - have pointed to Christ.

It's like a divine scavenger hunt.

Looking for Christ in every Bible story.

 Having the eyes to see His presence in every day.

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It's like a bread crumb trail.

Reading the Word, seeing the world around me... it all points me back to the Bread of Life.

The bread that feeds my soul.

That sustains me.

For when the days are hard,

and my heart is weak,

and parenting overwhelms me,

and the doubts engulf me...

...I follow that trail.

Bread crumb.by.crumb.

Those tiny treasures the heavenly Father has hid throughout our day.

I pick them up.

Dust them off.

See the presence of Jesus afresh.

This day, this moment, we celebrate that He is risen indeed!
 

Speaking of bread... here's the gorgeous loaves our man made too.

Happy Easter!

mel ;o)