This past weekend on our way home from The Gospel Coalition we headed to Keswick, Ontario to visit Brad's Mom and Bruce. They presented Lily and us with some books for Easter (and lots of chocolate which I'll post a recipe about soon!) and I wanted to share the book Easter Surprise that they got for Lily with you all.
What I love about this book is the balance. So often it's one extreme or the other with religious-turned-popular holidays: celebrate the popular fully (i.e. Santa is coming! Easter bunny decorations all over the house, loads of gifts and candy) or we ignore it completely (banishing all traces of the "worldliness" and focusing solely on what Jesus has to do with that holiday).
We are striving for balance. I don't know how it will always look, and once our kids start asking questions and having friends who participate differently, things could morph a bit, but for now we're attempting balance. Meaning, we don't tell our kids to be good because Santa or the bunny won't shower them with gifts if they're not, but we don't pretend that these things aren't a reality in our culture, and eliminate the traditions by, say, not giving gifts or chocolate in moderation. Simply put, pretending the Easter bunny isn't a reality for tons of kids isn't serving our kids either, since we don't live in a sheltered Christian bubble, they're going to find out eventually!
This book talks about all the fun things the Easter holiday/Spring season can represent in terms of surprises. The surprise of the first tulip growing from the ground, the surprise of spring chicks being born, the surprise of easter eggs (all kids get candy from someone at some point in Easter, typically in our culture!), but culminates with the ultimate surprise:
"Such fun surprises, one by one,
but did you know that God's dear Son
Arose to glory in the skies, on Easter day?
He's God's surprise!
Yes Jesus lives!
He loves you, too!
And he's God's Easter gift for you"
A little cheesy when you read it as an adult, but it's beautiful truth for a little heart
Christian Mother Goose books
by: Marjorie Ainsborough Decker
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