I babysat for my friend's two kids (girl, age 4, and boy, almost 2). So it was like having two sets of twins since my girls are 4 years old and 20 months. It was a pretty good day. The kids overall did great, but I am definitely not planning to have four kids of my own anytime soon (unless God has a different plan for us).
Watching all of them play, I thought of life. How full of life they are! They have their whole future ahead of them and, Lord willing, their future will be good, happy, and fruitful.
Watching the children enjoying life, I initially thought, "what a stark constrast it is to watching death." I offered to babysit because my friend was attending an out-of-state funeral. Today I also got an email from a friend whose father just passed away over the weekend. And then watching the news tonight, I was reminded of all the destruction the tornados caused in Joplin, MO, with a death toll of nearly 90. I think death is hard to fathom for most people. It doesn't matter in what form it comes. It's hard for those facing it, and especially for those left behind. I have been to enough funerals to know that Christian or non-Christian alike, everyone mourns the loss of a loved one. I know I have. Over four years ago my grandfather passed away and two years ago my aunt passed away. They were both strong Christians and I know someday I will see them again in heaven. But I have to admit, that being at their funerals was still painful. We all cried and mourned, and continue to feel the loss, although it is easier as time goes on. So, like I said, death is hard for everyone. But the difference I think is in whether you believe that death is the end or if it is just another beginning. Being a Christian, I do believe that my physical death will only be the beginning of my eternal life because of the gift of salvation Jesus gave to all sinners who believe in Him. So I don't believe that I will fear death when it comes to me. But I will have to admit that I will be sad to leave my loved ones on earth even as I rejoice that I will join the Lord in heaven.
Writing all of this makes me remember an anecdote from this morning. My 4 year old daughter usually says whatever is on her mind and often it is the most random thing. This morning she said, "Mommy, did you know that the Easter bunny often skips houses? Like he skipped our house?" Let me give a bit of background so that you understand where this is coming from. Please bear with me. . . You all know how commercialized Christian holidays have become, so there's Santa and the Easter bunny. Anyways, around our household we don't really focus on either of these figures, not because we see anything wrong with them per se, it's just that neither my husband or I grew up believing in them, and so we try to focus on the biblical meaning of these holidays instead. Consequently, my daughter never really heard us talk about an Easter bunny. Her friend asked her a while back if she got an Easter basket from the Easter bunny. My daughter said no, so her friend told my daughter that the Easter bunny must have skipped our house. Now, back to this morning. . . I responded to my daugther, "Well, the Easter bunny didn't really skip our house. You got several Easter baskets, didn't you?" She said, "Yes. But not from him. They were from you and aunties and papapa." Ok, she's a smart one, so I thought a minute more before responding. I didn't want to crush her little 4 year old heart by saying no Easter bunny exists. But I seriously had no clue how to respond. Then I heard in my mind, "Jesus." So, I decided to use this opportunity for a biblical lesson. I say, "You know people talk about Santa Claus alot when it's Christmas? (she nods yes) And what is Christmas really about? (she says, Jesus was born). Yes, exactly. He was our first Christmas present. And Santa Claus is just Jesus's helper to remind everyone that Christmas is about giving. (ok. mom. but. . .). And well, the Easter bunny is kinda like that too. What is Easter about? (she answers Jesus rose again after dying on the cross -- insert proud mama moment here). Exactly. Good job. So, you see, Easter is really about Jesus conquering death and the Easter bunny is like a helper also, just a way for people to remember to celebrate on that day. Do you understand?" She replied, "yes." and then I prayed a silient prayer of thankfulness that I didn't have to continue with further explanations! Ok, not sure if I handled that the best way I could have, but my point in telling the story is to remind myself, and hopefully others out there, that although death is hard, in Christ we have a living savior who has conquered death. So you see, life and death aren't so disparate afterall -- even if they appear to be at first glance.
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