Our daughter Zoe is 8 months old. To her every day is full of new things. She had grapefruit for the first time this morning and loved it. She has learnt to clap in the last few days and stick out her tongue. Every day is full of new things and she takes it all in her stride.
A few days ago Zoe was sat out in the garden. It is the first time she has sat on grass. She spent ages looking at it and feeling the individual blades. She picked some. She even tried to eat some! (Don’t worry we stopped her before it was too late) I was struck though, by the fact that she was so mesmerised by it. To me grass is commonplace. I walk on it every day. In fact, sometimes it is an annoyance because I can never quite keep on top of cutting it! But to Zoe it was a wonder. It was green and soft, cold and slippy, it bent and tore, it was all different shapes and sizes and she loved exploring it.
It made me think of Easter. To some of us Easter is commonplace. So ‘yes Jesus died and 3 days later he rose again.’ We celebrated it every year! In fact it could be a bit annoying. It’s never on the same day. It’s always a bit confusing if it will be in the middle, beginning or end of the spring holidays, and I’m never sure which of the days are bank holidays and which aren’t. Maybe I need to be more like Zoe marvelling at the grass. Easter isn’t commonplace. It is amazing! And like a child experiencing grass for the first time, my challenge was to experience Easter like it was the first time again this year.
In fact to take it one step further, maybe I need to have faith like a child and experience Easter like it was the first time every day. I’m sure Zoe will get used to grass and not always find it so fascinating, but I pray I will never get ‘used to’ Easter.
Father God, every time I think on the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, the battle He waged in the grave and the victory He won over death, may I sit in amazement and be engrossed in the wonder of it all. And receive the fullness of life that is mine every day because HE LIVES! Amen.
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Rachel is the co-editor of the Beacon of Hope and coordinates Prayer Ministry for the Inspire Movement.
