Impatience shows up in me more often that I would like. Not sure how much is my genetics and how much is the speed of the culture in which I live; training me to expect fast service, instant information with the internet and even exceptionally fast growth in my gardens with miracle fertilizers.
But waiting is good. Sitting in a doctor’s office waiting room until my name is called reminds me I’m not in control. Getting stuck in traffic or behind a particularly slow driver reminds me God could be protecting me from harm. Anticipating a holiday or an event, but unable to make the days go by more quickly makes the arrival of the event more significant. It is good that there is a natural rhythm to our days, that we cannot change the ordering of God’s world, the time tables He has set in place.
Anticipating Easter is what Lent is all about. Not only should the forty days give us time to prepare our hearts for this grand event but it allows us time, if we will use it for this purpose, to prepare a worthy celebration for this most important of all holidays on the calendar.
One way to celebrate is of course to plan a feast for your family or a combined meal with several families to set this Sunday apart from all others. The goal is not to make more work for us busy moms, but to take some time in the month of March to mark the resurrection a memorable day in your family so that your children begin to rightly value its importance in their lives.
Two quick suggestions, with more to follow in the next few weeks, are these: one is to use our new Behold the Lamb wreath to make all of Holy Week set apart from every other week of the year. If you read the cards together and learn what Jesus went through for us, because He loved us, then Resurrection Sunday will be a much more joyous day for all of you.
And if you don’t like the color of the wreath, because it is metal a can of spray paint will transform it. No long wait on this suggestion.
Secondly, on the Saturday before Easter Sunday, a simple way to impress your children with the somber tone of the day is to buy inexpensive black fabric or black plastic table cloths and cover your table, your lamps, even windows to suggest the feeling the disciples felt on that day after Jesus had died. Then on Sunday when the light comes pouring in your windows the symbolism of the Light of the World being alive again will leave a lasting impression on your family.
Waiting is good for me. It is good for all of us. Savor the waiting moments and use them wisely.
