Bubbles: An Easter Egg for this Spiritual Misfit

How two mamas, their daughters, and a puppy helped me rediscover the meaning of Easter.

The light was radiant and shone brightly off of two young mamas twirling bubble wands for their little girls and the puppy. 

My daughter (5 going on 6) and niece (almost 3) danced and jumped and poked and twirled as they chased after and popped the bubbles in the afternoon sun. 

It was the first time the puppy, Boadie, had experienced these mysterious floating orbs! 

The little white fluff ball was caught up in the wonder of it all as he tried to pin the bubbles down with his little paw, only to watch them shockingly disappear!

The grass was newly green under all the playful little feet and paws, beginning to make its comeback from the brown, crispy dormancy of winter. 

My son (9) and his uncle tossed the football back n’ forth in the background. 

I watched in delight as my sister-in-law bent down with her bubble tube for a tender moment to give her sweet little daughter a turn with the wand… only to take a swift shot to the face with the nylon whip. 

We laughed and laughed.

The scene lasted but a few precious moments yesterday afternoon. (Nothing can carry on all that long with littles and puppies…)

But those precious few moments were my Easter egg.

The leading image, the savory little surprise treat I discovered unexpectedly yesterday to delight (and anchor) my spirit.

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The Awkward

I’m still in spiritual transition, and being in spiritual transition often feels awkward… sorta like when you don’t know what to do with your hands when someone is taking a picture. It’s like somehow we never realize we have hands until someone needs to take a picture of us, and we have a little mini crisis about what to do with these suddenly cumbersome appendages…

I often find myself awkward these days. 

Especially around religious days, seasons, and holidays.

What am I supposed to do with my hands?!

I have cumbersome appendages.

What am I supposed to feel?

What do I believe?

And, especially, what do I want to teach my kids about this?

That’s the biggy for me.

My kids.

Being in spiritual transition is one thing for me, as a middle aged adult person. It feels okay, natural even, to be sifting and evolving in my beliefs and practices.

But in that liminal space, what do I offer my children? How do I help them construct meaning? What traditions will we live into as a family? What will we teach these beautiful babes about these days and times? Why are they sacred to us? 

My wife and I are still in process here.

And it’s the holidays that end up feeling the most uncomfortable in that headspace.

What are we celebrating?

Why are we celebrating it?

What makes this day special? Why do we set it apart?

I don’t have all the answers yet.

But the bubbles helped yesterday.

Because the bubbles drew me into the beauty and wonder, into the celebration of life and renewal. 

Play bursting forth on the green grass that has recently undergone resurrection. 

Celebrating the rich snapshots of life that break in amidst all the perpetual small (and large) deaths happening around us all the time.

Life finds a way.

Love finds a way.

And as we go about life, we find our Easter eggs. 

The little signs. The colorful surprises. The moments we find ourselves surprised by hope, or taken up into the wonder and beauty of it all, even as we walk through grief, loss, sorrow and uncertainty. 

That’s the magic of Easter. 

That’s the magic of resurrection.

Death is a natural, necessary part of life. And beautiful in its own way. But also,

Spring is inevitable.

Light returns. 

Colors bloom and blossom.

We will play on green grass again. 

In this we can place our hope and trust. 

In this we find the Spirit of God as She draws us up into hope and renewal, not just annually with the Spring - though She is present to us in that glory - but in each and every day, in each and every moment. 

May we have eyes to see the Easter eggs.

May we be renewed in our hope, renewed in our trust that 

Light returns.

Spring is coming, and

Love will find a way.

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Did you find an Easter egg this weekend? I’d love to hear about how life has delighted or surprised you recently. Let me know in the comments!

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Photo Credit(s):

1.) Sebastian Pichel via Unsplash

2.) Sincerely Media via Unsplash

3.) Raquel Hamner the_candid via Unsplash

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