An every day Easter

Easter is over.

Jesus has risen.

The kids are hyped up on sugar.

You survived one more holiday meal with the in-laws.

Now what?

I'll be honest, this particular post has been a tricky one. It started days ago,  and after several revisions and real life moments, I'm starting over. Primarily because this Easter changed me; it's been the most impactful and relevant Easter of my twenty-something years, for a host of reasons still too precious to share. Still yet, this blog draws transparency out of me like a salve.

Eight days ago, I began to frame my week with a mindset of "Easter actually." I yearned to move beyond the typical, dearly held religious traditions and into something deeper. Something real. Something personal. Something that extends beyond Lent and Passover and Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. My honest longings brought me to a place of examination. I began to weigh the delicate balance between the crucifixion and the Easter Bunny, and I pondered how to address it in my home. I read these flagrant articles about the woes of pagan traditions, and then decided maybe the religious dogma wasn't for my family. I've seen lots of artistic interpretations of Jesus and children, and not one of them gave me the impression that Jesus was the anti-joy, anti-egg-hunt type of guy. I just about had it all figured out when I decided maybe I was wrong. Too irreverent. Too laissez-faire. Too simple in my appreciation of the risen Savior.

So day by day, I sat quietly and waited. I soaked in the Easter story over and over and over. I wept over its implications. I basked in moments far too grand for words. And on Thursday, when the revolving door of children started its spin, I didn't have a clue how to handle things, but I had peace. We studied together; we talked together; and we dyed eggs together. We made cookies for the Easter Bunny. We opted to do a balloon release so Jesus would receive our "thank you" letters all the way up in heaven. We did church in the park. Still yet, I still doubted myself. I doubted my methods. I doubted the vastness of God to overcome any of my well-intended shortcomings...

...and then God stepped in.

I was doing a few dishes Sunday afternoon and the house was relatively calm, all things considered, when a precious seven year old boy wrapped his arms around me and said, "Neanea, I wish we could celebrate Easter everyday."

Pause. Consider that for a moment.

Easter everyday? I think that's precisely what we've been missing.

Easter is wonderful, but what about the other 364 days of the year? Why do most people, myself often times included, live as though the power of the cross is only effective on Sundays? Or maybe even the Sunday? When Christ muttered, "It is finished," I think he simultaneously breathed hope into the universe, and sometimes, I miss the boat on that enormous truth.

Sin is finished.
Death is finished.
Hopelessness is finished.
Torment is finished.
Sickness is finished.
Loneliness is finished.
Despair is finished.
Addiction is finished.
Brokenness is finished.
Defeat is finished.
Satan is finished.

Jesus came to redeem us, ransom us, and restore us. He deliberately stole the keys of hell and the grave,  and He reigns victorious still, despite what it oftentimes looks like. Yes, our final restoration is coming, but I don't think we have to wait for heaven to experience any of it. I think He desires us to pursue that "it is finished" bit here and now. Friends, He's won the war. Let's go to battle against the darts of a tangled life. Let's taste and see that the Lord is good. Let's stand up to the lies of the enemy. Let's own our identities as King's kids.

And most of all, let's live Easter every day. White fluffy rabbit and absurd amounts of candy included. Obviously, Jesus can handle it.