The reason I make my Rainbow Jello Salad once a year to coincide with Easter is because of the colors. I love this time of year when the earth gradually casts aside her winter wardrobe of worn-looking neutrals for a fresh new Spring wardrobe of delicate pastels. Colors are softer and clearer when the year is young. These newborn colors are perfect for Easter decorations and candy. Baskets and eggs and jellybeans look as if they were rolled in green grass, soaked in sunshine, brushed against pink and purple petals, or dipped in the blue of the sky.
After our Easter brunch last Saturday we had an Easter Egg hunt for our grand daughter. The Easter bunny came while she ran to the store with her Dad and Papa. I had my sister and my sister-in-law be bunny helpers which is interesting considering that both of them are getting older and have major trouble with their knees and their feet. But they were happy to help because they are both very giving and they are both very young at heart. Just goes to show that the Easter Bunny is ageless. My grand daughter was excited to look for what the Easter bunny had left for her. She wasn't excited in a jumping-up-and-down way but you could see the wonder in her eyes and that filled the air with childlike anticipation that rejuvenated the 'old folks' who were watching and thinking of Easter Egg hunts from another time.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the brunch although my grandson was miserable teething and my 89 year old Uncle lost a tooth. Life can be rough on both ends and in the middle but thank heavens for all the moments of interspersed joy. I experienced several of those moments on Saturday. I got to hold my feverish grandson and comfort him and kiss him and feel him fall asleep in my arms. I got to feed and listen to, and laugh with and watch, and just be with family---sustenance for a mother. I also got to push my grand daughter in a swing. We pointed out airplanes, said silly things , and giggled together. For those moments I felt filled up with joy and weightier matters were carried away on the breeze.
The pleasures brought by colored jello, pastel colors, sleeping babies, laughing children, and time spent with people you love can be elusive and oh so hard to adequately describe. The apostle Paul defines Faith as being "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." In this case the word substance can have the Greek meaning of assurance, basis, or foundation. Simple pleasures like those experienced at our pre-Easter brunch strengthen my faith and give substance to my hopes and dreams. Our Savior said that man must become as a little child to enter the kingdom of Heaven. We all should spend more time with children to better understand this requirement and to grasp the substance of simple things. Time spent with my children and grandchildren gives me a glimpse of heaven and motivation to make it there.
What do you see from your window today?
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