Blessings, Bliss, and Bailey: Easter

Easter and Christmas. My least favorite days to go to church! These are the days when all the people who don't go to church all year finally come out! I suppose I should be glad that people are making an effort, but it can add confusion and stress to a day that should be just as easy as the rest.
I mean, starting the morning going to church and not being able to even park is frustrating, then to enter the church and find that the sanctuary is full and that you have to sit in an overflow room is equally as annoying.
Good thing we showed up early this year! I told Christian that I am not going to sit in a cafeteria chair this year and watch mass on an LCD projector - we needed to get there earlier because we KNOW it is going to be busy! It is not that it is about the seat or the view, but if I am not comfortable with where I am then I feel that my focus gets skewed and I start looking around at everyone and thinking about how annoying they are. I mean, why do parents bring food for their kids to eat during church? Really? They can't go an hour??? Or, why do people whisper and talk during mass? On that note, if your kid is going ham in church, stop negotiating with them and get out! See... this is where my mind wanders when I feel frustrated. And THAT is why this year I wanted to be early, get my seat, and focus on the meaning. I really feel that the devil LOVES church. I swear he shows up every Sunday to get inside peoples minds and get their focus off of the message... hence, staring at the lady who is negotiating with her one year old during the homily so no one can hear...
These are all his tactics! Make me look around annoyed at people so I don't hear what I came for! Such a sneaky little thing... but not this year!

This year I didn't go crazy with outfits or the Easter Bunny. Yes, he came, but in moderation. I think Christian and I both wore jeans and Bailey wore a sundress. I committed myself to focusing on the beauty of this day and not everything else.

It was a good thing because the priest shared a beautiful message. For Catholics, Easter marks the end of a 40 day Lenten season. These 40 days are meant to prepare us. Give us a chance to make a change, prepare, focus, and sympathize with Christ. The week leading up to Easter is Holy Week which is the last lap ending with the Triduum - Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Resurrection Sunday or Easter. Easter Sunday is like the grand finale! People come out of darkness and into the light!

The priest asked us a question, "What did you do to make the past week Holy?" It got me thinking.

What did I do? Enough? I vowed to read the New Testament during Lent but I will admit, I fell off at times and ended up skimming the end. Being in China, Christian taking a new job, getting our house on the market, and preparing for our move really took my focus away. And that was just his response.

"The WORLD will not make that change. We have to do it. The WORLD just goes on, we must make the effort."

So true. The world keeps moving whether it is Lent or not. Stocks rise and fall, money is made and lost, the sun rises and sets, people go to China, get new jobs and move... so WE have to make it different. We have to be the change.
And in spite of the fact that we didn't make the change that God would have liked to see, he STILL gives us Grace. One pastor referred to Jesus' death by drawing the picture that Jesus went to the tomb of the womb of the earth - a place where all of our sins gather - and he had to go there and die for those sins.
So beautiful. Even though I ultimately failed at reading the entire gospel, God still forgives. And not just me, but everyone. The Easter readings really focused on Peter and Mary Magdalene, both of whom found new life in their relationship with Christ. They both needed a second chance, and both found blessing in the miraculous happening of Easter. Paul told us, "let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Their faith thus became "the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
What a great message.

After church, we returned home where Christian prepared an awesome brunch. Bailey had an Easter Egg Hunt in the yard, and we enjoyed one of the first nice weekends here in Iowa! I was really beginning to wonder if it would ever be warm again :-/

Bailey also participated in 2 larger Easter Egg Hunts on Saturday - she was NOT a fan. All the yelling and kids scrambling freaked her out. She just kind of stood there like her feet were stuck in cement... a little shy :( Better luck next year!

Happy Easter!