They were excited to hunt 7 brown eggs together, but I was a little sad.
When they found them, they put them in a zip lock bag then we began the process of making deviled eggs. We said "He is Risen, He is Risen indeed!" all day. We listened to Chad's favorite Easter song, He's Alive by Don Francisco. We called grandparents via skype and heard familiar loving voices. We went to a church with strangers, but felt like we belonged- because we did. Then, we came home and had dinner with great friends. Friends who are in the same position we are far from home and family.
I love tradition and of course holidays are loaded with tradition. It's been hard to keep cultural traditions going over the past 3 years and every time I try to, I end up discouraged and disappointed We didn't have new clothes, Easter baskets, colored eggs, or lilies. I had to keep telling myself, "That's not what it's about, that's not what it's about." But , honestly, it is a hard thing for me to let go of.
We are Americans and we will always teach our kids traditions that we grew up with. However we are more than that. What I really want is for Ella and Thomas' identity to be in Christ. When they are asked, "Who are you?" I want their answer to be Christ-centered. What I really want is for our family culture and tradition to be something that roots them strongly in Christ. Anything else is just temporary anyway.
So, why in the world do I allow myself to be so discouraged when simple cultural traditions can't happen? Silly girl. God wants to create Christ-centered traditions in my family. I need to trust Him more and stop focusing on what I think should happen!
When we look back on this Easter picture we will say, "This was Easter 2013. We were in Ecuador at the equator. We were getting ready to go tell people about Jesus and plant a church in Ambato." Wow. Only God could do that for us. I could have never created a better Easter memory for my kids.
All of a sudden those 7 brown eggs don't seem like such a sad thing after all.
2 comments:
So many prayers your way!
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