They are HIS.

Grace has started asking a lot of questions about God and Jesus and how he "lives in us" . .. questions that I love hearing, but also make be wonder how I can ever explain it adequately. And with Easter, came MORE questions . . . I even toyed with the idea of letting her watch a few scenes from the Passion of the Christ movie . . . I know it is graphic for little eyes, but I thought it would do a great job of visually showing her glimpses into what Jesus' crucifixion might have been like.

I ultimately decided it would still be a little too much for her . . . but it got me thinking about that movie and one of the scenes that I remember so well . . . the one where Mary is remembering back to when Jesus was a toddler and he falls down. And just like any mother, she drops what she is doing, runs to him, scoops him up and loves on him.

The script quickly takes us back to the crucifixion, but I realized a huge truth from that scene as I thought about it the other day. A truth that I, as a mother, need to hear a little more often. A truth that I think Mary realized, even when Jesus was a toddling babe, was that he was never really hers to begin with. She was merely a role in his story.

She loved him. Nurtured him. Bathed him. Fed him. Taught him. Disciplined him. Laughed with him. But when it was time, she was able to let him go. Let him go . . . live the life he was called to live. To die the death he was sent to die.

But what if she hadn't? What if instead, she decided that God sending him to live the life that he had planned for him was crazy and she got in the way? She told him he wasn't ready. Or that his calling was risky and dangerous? As a mom, I have to resolve to trust that my children are in good hands.

I love them. Nurture them. Bathe them. Feed them. Teach them. Discipline them. Laugh with them. But the greatest freedom I will ever give them (and myself) is the truth that they are not mine.

They are His.

And His good is better than our best. His love is greater than our love. His food, is the Bread of Life. His teachings are life giving. His discipline, is His spirit inside of them - that both leads and convicts them. He is the one who formed them in my womb. They were His idea before they were ever mine.

Soooo, since I wasn't going to let Grace watch The Passion of the Christ, I searched online for some ideas to make the Easter story REAL to her. Of course I found about a million AWESOME ideas, but narrowed it down to just a few.

We made Resurrection Rolls . . . this simple recipe paints such a vivid picture of the Resurrection story. Grace had some very LITERAL interpretations though . . . after we had carefully dipped the marshmallow "Jesus" in the embalming oil (butter) and spices (sugar and cinnamon) and put him in the tomb (crescent roll) and all were ready to go in the oven, Grace exclaimed, "We're going to cook Jesus?" It was a wonderful teaching opportunity because after waiting three long days (or fifteen minutes, which felt like days to Grace) they came out of the oven and she said, "Jesus melted!" The "tomb" was empty. He is risen. He is risen indeed.

Grace loved these Resurrection Eggs. A few of the stories and symbols were over her head, but for her to be able to hold a donkey like Jesus rode on and a little cloth like Jesus used to wash his disciples feet made it so much easier for her to be able to start telling the story herself.
And my FAVORITE . . . makes me cry when I hear her sing it.

"John 3:16, says that God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him will never die, but have ETERNAL life. He is the way, He is the truth, He is the light, so put your faith in Jesus Christ and your soul will never die."