Easter. I love Easter. Holy Week celebrations, family gatherings, the smells, the food (HAM!!!), the traditions, and…the ham! 😉 Seriously, my mom used to say, “We need to buy two hams. One for Becky and one for the rest of us.” I do love me some Easter spiral ham.

Over the years, our Easter traditions have been fun and full. The kids have put on plays, we’ve told and re-told the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection in many different ways, we’ve gathered to share what it is about Easter that is so special to us. We eat and laugh. We celebrate.

A couple of Shultz boys acting out a scene from Christ’s crucifixion as we retell the story.

Of all the celebratory traditions we have, Resurrection Eggs with Grandpa has been the favorite. It began years ago…this hiding of the eggs, Baer grandchildren hunting them down, then gathering with Grandpa to open each egg and tell the story for all of us to hear. A sweet, beautiful time that we will treasure forever.

Resurrection Eggs

But, gone are the days of “little” Baer grandchildren. It’s time for a new tradition. And I do believe we’ve found it…

It was Grandma’s idea. She handed out passages to each grandchild (well, the 8 we would be celebrating in person with. We couldn’t fly our 2 college girls home for the weekend. I was so sad and may need therapy, but I digress). Those 8 grandchildren were given their specific passages ahead of time and asked to “be creative”. That was pretty much it.

Grandma and Grandpa with 8 grandchildren this Easter.

All week I heard practicing and was excited to see what our children came up with.

Easter morning arrived. We got up shortly after 5 am, went to the sunrise service and pancake breakfast, then prepared to gather with the rest of our Colorado family. We were all starving by the time my sister and her family showed up, so food was on the agenda first. And believe you me, I ate more than my fair share of ham and I enjoyed every minute of it! 🙂

When it was time to contemplate and reflect, when it was time to tell the story, we gathered in the family room and one by one the Baer grandchildren stood up and shared the Scriptures in a unique, creative way. There was a worship dance with a narrator, Scripture turned into poetry, a PowerPoint, Scripture turned into music, a dramatic memorization and Scripture turned into a rap.

All I can say is, “Wow!” This time was powerful. It was special. It was moving.

Throughout the day, I was texting with my college girls. When they found out that we were not doing Resurrection Eggs, Laura (21) wrote, “NO EGGS?!” I mentioned that we had outgrown the eggs, and Hannah (19) replied, “That’s so sad.”

I realized it was a bit sad. Sitting with Grandpa and the Resurrection Eggs has been a tradition for so long. But, life is full of change and transition. I’ve learned that a lot the past few years. The only constant in my life is the Lord Jesus Christ! Whether you have old traditions or have started new ones, know that He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

We have a new Easter tradition, one that I’m really excited about. Not just because of how cool and moving these creative presentations of God’s Holy Word are, but because in preparing these creative presentations, my children (and my nieces and nephew) sit with the Scripture before the celebration of His resurrection even arrives. His Word is sinking deeply into their hearts. I LOVE that!

We’ve outgrown an old tradition, but I’m sure those Resurrection Eggs (which have been so loved that pieces are missing) will be back for my grandchildren. Until then…gone are the days of Resurrection Eggs.

Here are four Baer grandchildren (Emma King, Aaron Shultz, Abby King and Drew Shultz) creatively presenting their passages from God’s Word: