I rose at 5:45 Easter Sunday, just as I\u2019ve done for the past seven or eight years. I flipped on the hall light, knocked gently on each door and woke my children, one by one. \u201cGood morning, handsome; it\u2019s 5:45.\u201d \u201cGood morning, beautiful, time to rise and shine.\u201d Having risen at the first sound of the alarm, I had time to quickly shower and apply the only makeup I ever wear: facial sunscreen, moisturizer, eyeliner and mascara, lip liner and all-day lip stain, and a few brushstrokes of mineral powder. All I had left to do was don my costume for the Easter Dawn pageant, rally the troops and head out for the sunrise event.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s mine, but I found where the Easter Bunny hid one of the baskets,\u201d my youngest, recently-turned-thirteen-years old, son announced, a big grin on his face. I don\u2019t recall what I replied, though I\u2019m pretty sure I uttered some short dismissal, which I have since felt badly about. I really try to remember that he is still of the age to be enthusiastic about surprises and presents, unlike his older teenage siblings who are more into their friends and phones than wondering about what the pretending parents have put together in the namesake of the particular season\u2019s make-believe\u2026<\/p>\n
Wow\u2026 that makes my children sound selfish. And ungrateful. Well, yes, they can be on occasion\u2026 Can\u2019t we all be from time to time?<\/p>\n
The truth is, my children can also be\u2014and, thankfully, most often are\u2014compassionate, courteous, selfless and thoughtful beings. They have non-begrudgingly given up their pre-dawn Easter anticipation and agreeably participated in the community\u2019s Easter pageant. My oldest was ten or eleven when we began our tenure as play participants, my youngest around five or six, which puts my daughter around eight. Not once have they complained as we\u2019ve all played our roles, sat down for the youth-group sponsored breakfast, and helped tear down the displays before heading back home about around nine. This year, a sense of admiration filled me as I watched my oldest load his truck with props and set panels, my daughter on a ladder masterfully operating a power screw driver, and my youngest helping another adult tear apart a piece of the set. We are far from alone in delaying holiday festivities\u2014I know a number of families who rise before dawn Christmas day to participate in Arctic League deliveries to needy families. Years ago, one woman commented that her family had discussed taking a break from it for a year. One of her pre-teen children commented that \u201cChristmas just won\u2019t be the same if we don\u2019t.\u201d Still today, that youthful statement humbles me\u2026 <\/p>\n
In addition, I am grateful, as are my children who (most of the time) seem to appreciate the item or two of some specialty clothing or video game they\u2019ve been eyeing, along with the other little whatnots the rabbit tucks in among a few pastel and bunny-themed chocolates, jelly beans, Peeps, and malted milk balls\u2026 and the gas cards, for the teenage driver who has been lamenting how much money it takes to fill his tank! (he is learning just how expensive all that getting together and hanging out with friends can cost\u2026)<\/p>\n
But, getting back to the Easter morning, as we were saying goodbye to the long-time family friend who recruited us to participate in the pageant all those years ago and has been a part of the Pageant committee for more years than he can count, did something he\u2019s never done before. \u201cYou know, if you ever want to switch churches, we\u2019d love to have you as part of our congregation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For an instant I was confused and surprised: Why would he say such a thing? He knows we don\u2019t belong to a church, doesn\u2019t he?<\/em><\/p>\n A rare occasion for me, I was able to think and respond quickly. \u201cThe world is our church,\u201d I said as I lifted my arms at my sides and raised my palms to the skies. \u201cWe can offer up thanks and prayers wherever we are, whenever we want.\u201d I moved my hand in a sweeping motion that took in the trees and shrubs and the pond that sits at the back of the outdoor area where we set up the stage.<\/p>\n That is my spirituality. Having witnessed hypocrisy among many church members, and a number of divided congregations–churches and friendships ripped apart– who could not manage to find some medium ground on issues, I have chosen to remove myself from organized religion\u2026 We are all one race, one being, and I also find it difficult when so many segregate themselves from others because of an inability to accept diversity\u2026<\/p>\n Spirituality is one of the essences of our being\u2014and it encompasses so much more than doctrine and scripture, it is the heart and soul of our mortal existence.<\/p>\n I love my church.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I rose at 5:45 Easter Sunday, just as I\u2019ve done for the past seven or eight years. I flipped on the hall light, knocked gently on each door and woke my children, one by one. \u201cGood morning, handsome; it\u2019s 5:45.\u201d \u201cGood morning, beautiful, time to rise and shine.\u201d Having risen at the first sound of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[97,60,90,55,94,28],"class_list":["post-379750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-church","tag-compassion","tag-easter","tag-love","tag-religion","tag-spirituality"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379750\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}