Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And out of all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. I then went on to find other words such as grace, sing, obey, and of course, our Savior's name, Jesus.
Tonight, to my children's surprise, the words appeared as they lifted the eggs out of the dye. My son exclaimed, "You did it again, Mommy! You wrote words on the eggs!" I tried this last year, and only one word showed up. (Although, a lesson was learned from that one word.) Thankfully, all of the words showed up this time.
After we dyed the eggs, I read the verses above and each time I came across a word they spotted on one of the eggs, we put the egg in a basket. It was a fun and meaningful activity.
I admit that I could have had a little more patience when color-drenched hands were grabbing at the eggs. I could have used more wisdom and compassion about the excitement that two young children show at dying Easter eggs. My attempt to finish the activity with reading about Jesus's crucifixion seemed to be in vain as the children were too busy dancing around the table, singing songs, and chattering about the rest of our weekend plans.
As I cleaned up the table, put the eggs back in their cartons for overnight storage, and closed my Bible, the thought hit me that I am often too busy dancing around the many tables of responsibilities I have. Sometimes, I am too noisy with songs of my own rhythm, or simply talking too much to listen to the Word.
I'm still learning to use wisdom, compassion, gratitude, humility, gentleness, and patience as a parent. Aren't we all?
Out of all of these, LOVE binds us together. LOVE.
On this incredible weekend as the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ resonates within us, let us not forget to love.
Let us not forget to love as He loves us.
Thank you, Jesus, for Your Love that led You to the Cross.