"Earth's saddest day and gladdest day were just 3 days apart."

Well, my Saturday before Easter is complete - just watched Moses part the Red Sea, so I'm good. Yes, the "Ten Commandments" with Charlton Heston is a little hokey, but it still moves me after all these years. (And yes, Charlton Heston is STILL my president.) When I was in early elementary school, Easter was the only day my mother took us to church. (She dropped us off at Sunday school otherwise.) My sister and I always got matching Easter dresses - hers was always light blue and mine was pink. Each year my mother would take my brother, sister and I to the dime store and let us get a real bunny and dyed baby chicks, which would stay in the back yard until they got big. Then one day we'd come home and they would be gone and mom would say they ran away...We would go to my grandparents house for an Easter egg hunt and small gifts and then go out to a nice restaurant in San Antonio or to the country club. Once we got older, we went to the beach every Easter, and my sister and I would, on our own, find a local church and go on Sunday morning. It just always felt wrong to miss church on Easter.

With my children, I have tried very hard to not commercialize this day. We always did the Santa thing for Christmas, but no Easter bunny for Easter. It's been harder to "Keep the Christ in Christmas" than remembering the real reason we celebrate Easter. For me, Easter is the highest holy day of the year, and should not be watered down with a bunch of pagan Spring rabbits! And no gifts like Christmas to worry about, just church and seeing family.

My youngest's public school DID have Good Friday off yesterday, but many of the public schools in Austin did not have a holiday. So sad... And we wonder why the schools have become so violent, but then remember, that we took God and prayer out of schools... Our biggest grocery store chain in Texas closes for 2 days a year, Christmas and Easter, but the rest of them are all open. In our small town, most businesses will be closed tomorrow, but in the city? Sadly, many will be open.... Whether people will admit it or not, the days between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday just feel different - deep in your bones. Some will deny it and distract themselves, but it's there. Some day, "every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord."

Bow now or bow later...