When I was a child
Easter was a happy holiday
of bright brass and new cotton.
Colored eggs in crackled shades
of purple, salmon and teal
filled and fed our nest,
and end tables were fit
with crystal bowls
of jelly beans and pastel mint wafers.
Candy filled baskets
lined with crinkled green grass
were found before church,
and I’d wear white gloves
with ivory patent leathers,
admiring my spring dress all day.
Family would come over for brunch
bearing blue hydrangea
and fruit salad,
eager to be together
and talk of good things.
Blood and thorns were put away,
and gladness would rise
indeed
over pork and pink applesauce.
And though I didn’t yet understand
the cup of His suffering,
I was made new.

“Take with you the joy of Easter to the home, and make that home bright with more unselfish love, more hearty service…” – John Ellerton

An earlier version of this post had greater reference to Gethsemane. Here is the image and verse that went with it:

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matt 26:39)

images: goforfun.com.au, Jesus Praying in the Garden