Easter Traditions
Easter, like Christmas, is a holiday filled with expectation. I find myself piling up my plate of to-do’s just like my Easter Sunday potluck plate. A day set aside to celebrate our risen Lord should not add to the chaos of our lives, but sometimes it does. Why? Some of it is self-inflicted, much stems from a heart of wanting to bless others, but a lot of the stress and mayhem comes from the enemy of our souls. I do not have this down, I promise you, but a couple changes to our family rhythm have brought about much peace.
I am blessed to be forced, in a way, to start praying over Easter Sunday all the way back in January. I lead our church’s hula ministry and I start prepping our keiki and ladies for the day early in the year. This brings a unique set of commitments on an already busy weekend, but over the years, it has become a huge way of blessing our church body and inviting visitors into the worship and message and it has challenged me with the necessity of prayer. Our hula sisters pray fervently over each other as the weeks tick by, for protection and peace against the inevitable spiritual warfare that is sure to come. Stepping out in ministry often puts a target on us as believers, and prayer is one of the main ways we do battle against the enemy. I encourage you to begin praying over this year’s March 31st. Let’s not give the enemy a foothold on such a powerful day.
Another means we try to bring peace to a busy day is by shifting our timing. While special, it’s hard to keep up with all the traditions every year, but two things have lasted the test of time. Both take place the day before Easter, so Sunday is all about Jesus. Friday, I bake enough Easter crown bread to last for a couple days. Eating it together marks a special time where we can talk about and pray over the next day. The second thing (some of you may think we’re so carnal, lol) is our Easter egg hunt. We do the whole thing: dyed eggs, plastic eggs with jelly beans, golden eggs with money, and a small basket with a few special treats. Either I’ve lost you right now or you’re loving the idea of doing this the day before Sunday. All the questions of “Is it time yet?” are laid aside and “He is risen! He is risen indeed!” take their place.
These two key changes have helped our family not get through, but rather celebrate and relish the joy of Christ’s resurrection power and God’s amazing love for us on the most special of holidays in a Christian’s life. Start praying over your family, your church staff and friends who need to hear about Jesus. Ask the Lord to reveal family rhythms that need change or an adjustment. Remember the big picture: we are soldiers engaged in a war and this March 31st is the day we proclaim victory over the armies of darkness. Christ reigns and He is worthy. From all of us at CHOH, we pray you have a truly blessed Resurrection Sunday.
He is risen,
Melissa Scott