The Easter Tree
My children woke Easter morning to a tree abloom with breakfast (Thanks to my sweet sister-in-law, Crystal, for inspiring this idea!) Dangling on yellow and purple ribbons from the white-blossomed pear tree in our front yard was everything we needed to begin the day at the table. Miniature boxes of cereal, personal packs of donuts, shiny plastic bowls, shimmering orange cups, and slender swaying spoons all beckoned the kids to come and be filled.
One by one my tousled-haired-treasures woke, and one by one they peered out the window in wonder. “What’s that?” Hannah asked as she flung open the front door, stood in her pink bathrobe and stared at the strange breakfast buffet in the front yard.
“Go see,” I encouraged with a grin. Giggling, she grabbed her poke-a-dot rain boots and waded through the grass bejeweled with dew. I watches as she danced around the flowering limbs and surveyed the odd blooms of sugary fare.
“I can’t believe it! I can’t believe it! Everything we need is on this tree!” She reached for a box of Lucky Charms; then turned in question. “May I?”
I smiled. “Yes, it’s all there for the taking.”My third-born plucked a pack of donuts, powdery like the snow that once sprinkled the limbs upon which it hung. Then she stepped back and stood thoughtfully in front of the breakfast blossoms. She raised an eyebrow of understanding and whispered reverently, “So this tree is kind of like of the cross, isn’t it, Mom?”
I swallowed an unexpected lump of emotion that was creeping up my throat and met my daughter’s deep blue gaze. “Yes, Hannah. That’s the gift of Easter. Everything we need is on the tree.”
The front door flew open and a pajama-clad four-year-old leaped down the steps in his signature cow boots, his coarse brown hair rumpled from sleep. Eager to share the joy, Hannah grabbed her little brother’s hand and ushered him to the tree that would not leave him hungry.
As I gathered empty cereal boxes from the kitchen table and wiped donut crumbles from the wooden booster chair, I smiled at the excitement that had reigned around our breakfast table.
“Mommy, please can we eat off of our tree every day?” Josh had pleaded with a mouthful of Fruit Loops. I’d kissed the top of my youngest son’s head and replied,“Maybe next Easter our breakfast tree will bloom again.”
But as I walked past my open Bible on the kitchen counter, I pondered my little boy’s request once more and wondered how my own life would change if I began each morning at the tree. That, after all, is the amazing invitation of Easter long after the ham has been eaten and the plastic eggs have been packed away. Because of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice on Calvary’s hill, I can step boldly to the cross and discover that everything for which my souls hungers dangles there, free for my taking day after day after day.
Today’s Overflow: Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
-Ephesians 1:17, The Message
-Ephesians 1:17, The Message
Yeah.. if only I could get myself out of bed and to the tree.. or get there alone.. without my pre-dawn clan of children.. or… just… you’re right- not easy, but so full of promise 🙂 Hope your Easter was sweet, dear friend.
-Alicia
What a great idea!!! I’ll have to try it next year 🙂 Thanks for sharing and what a wonderful reminder to get all I need from Jesus each morning. Sounds so easy . . .
~Robin