Recognizing what its all about

Last Friday I got to thinking, "I'll bet there are lots of Easter egg hunts tomorrow ... And I'll bet Eric is old enough and smart enough now to get the hang of finding Easter eggs (at least I hope he finally is!)." So on Saturday morning I called my friend Missy, who is really into these kinds of things, to see if she was taking her kids to any egg hunts. Of course, they were planning to go to 3 of them!!! We agreed to meet up at the first one and go from there. I was a bit hesitant to commit to all three. I was thinking one would be fine. Well it turns out that we both went to an egg hunt at 1o am on Sat. morning on Third Ave, but who knew that there were two different egg hunts going on ... on the same street at the same time!!

I thought the egg hunt I was at was at a Rec. Center because all the activity was going on behind the Rec. center building. I saw the deranged looking Easter Bunny, the crowd of people with basket-carrying children, but I couldn't find Missy. I was a few minutes late also and all the 1-4 yr. olds were already in the fenced in area picking up eggs. All my hype for Eric having a great time at an Easter egg hunt was starting to dwindle ... disappointments were piling up. Eric was still happy to see the crazy looking Easter Bunny, and watch a bunch of balloons that had come loose drift slowly away. We could have left right then and he would have been just as happy. when we got there.

I was trying to decide what to do ... when they announced that 5-8 yr olds were next and could come into the fenced in area and line up. A mom will do anything for her child to experience what children are supposed to experience, so I asked if we could join these "big" kids. It was no problem and there were several other "under 5" children whose parents must have been late also. We lined up ... all 50 or so children and look into the basketball court sized area in front of us with maybe (and that's a big maybe) 100 pastel plastic eggs. The woman in charge instructed us that parents could help children under 3 pick up eggs, but they were only allowed to pick up 3 eggs for their child. All children picking up their own eggs could pick up as many as they could. My heart sank. How on earth were we going to get eggs for our basket?! I was never good at math, but I could see the ratio of eggs to kids was going to equal disappointed kids! I started to reason how thankful I was that Eric was too little to really understand the competition, when our line of greedy egg grabbers started inching closer to the field of eggs. What should I do? Maintain position. Move up too. Tell them to move back. Why was this feeling like a moral dilemma?? We held to the rules and stayed where we were and then the woman in charge said, "Go!" I urged Eric forward and in the rush for booty, a small cache of 3 eggs were overlooked. I herded Eric toward them and he managed to pick up 2 of them before the third was snatched away even as he reached for it. I relaxed. Eric did what we were there to do. We even gave one of his precious eggs to a little boy who didn't have any.

And then we went to stand in the VERY LONG line to redeem our eggs for prizes (or in our case: egg for prize). There were sad children who didn't get any eggs and then there were bold ones boasting of their 8 and 10 egg bounty. I also learned at this point that I wasn't at the rec. center, but at a nursing home, and in addition to prizes (even to those who didn't get any eggs) they had hot dogs, chips, and drinks. We chatted with a few moms and kids in line around us, but I was still feeling a little irritated at the whole process. Why didn't they tell all the kids they could only pick up 3 eggs at most? How could some parents encourage their kids to get the most instead of sharing with those crying ones who weren't fast enough? Good grief! An Easter egg hunt should NOT be Survival of the Fittest. Even as I was thinking about this, a woman from the local paper told us they had taken our picture and asked for our names. So much for smiling! I didn't even know the camera was on us.

Inside, nursing home employees were passing out prizes, dishing out hot dogs, and serving their young guests. And their residents, young at heart, if not of body, looked on. The staff had arranged that the exit would take guests through the halls of the facility past the residents, who were mostly all in the hallway, and then to the parking lot. As we threw our trash away and organized our basket, egg and prize plasic inflatable rabbit, it occurred to me that all the work that went into this event was not about prizes, polite and charitable children and parents, Easter Bunnys, or served hot dogs. It was about bringing joy to people confined to a care facility who probably don't see many young faces close up throughout the year. And for me and I hope others, awareness of a population of our society who are often forgotten. I felt like the Grinch whose heart had also grown 3 sizes that day. I encouraged Eric to say thank you to people and "Happy Easter!". I had him give Hi-5's to as many as I could. The smiles he got bring tears to my eyes even now. God bless him. God bless them all.

I will always remember this Easter Egg Hunt and what I learned. And I pray I will teach it to Eric and apply it to all areas of my life. I thought it was about finding Easter eggs, prizes and the "Ultimate" experience. No. It wasn't that at all.

It's like life. I tend to get bogged down thinking about the details. I think it's about finding contentment instead of being content. I am after the "Ultimate" experience.

No. It's about Jesus. It's all about Jesus. And his grace and mercy and love. Amen!

It reminds me of the line in a worship song .... "It's all about you, Jesus. It's not about me, as if you should do things my way. You alone are God, and I surrender. I surrender to your ways.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Forgive me for my self centeredness. Forgive me too for being so critical of situations around me and failing to see You and your goodness. Lord, when I am like this, my mind is closed to you, and I don't want to be closed from you at all. I know that with Jesus, all things are possible. Thank you. I thank you for all those who work in nursing homes and care for those who are sick, and weak, and too unwell to care for themselves. I pray that you would keep their hearts from being hardened and help them be renewed in showing love and kindness to their patients. Father, I pray for all these people who are patients in nursing homes. Father, if they do not know you, I pray that they would come to put their hope and trust in you. I pray that they all would know your presence, your peace, and your abiding love. Thank you for allowing Eric and I to touch a few of their hearts in just a small way. Lord, I pray you were reflected in our smiles and handshakes and hi-fives. Show us more ways that we may serve you and bring joy to others who particularly need it. and Help us to Surrender to You. Amen.