Thank the Lord

It is Easter weekend, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the occasion to be thankful that Christ took on the sins of the world so that we might have a place in heaven in the presence of God.

So what's the problem? Unfortunately, it's how we've distorted the honoring of this incomparable gift. Now, I don't have a problem with also celebrating spring with bunnies and baskets and egg hunts. I loved filling my children's baskets with treats and treasures, and some of my fondest memories were my children chasing around the house searching for plastic eggs filled with chocolates, popcorn and quarters, a tradition, by the way, that they didn't want stopped well into their late teens.

But did you read the coverage of parents gone wild at several egg hunts thoughout the country? It's unbelievable---parents who encouraged their tiny children to kick, push and fight other children to grab as many eggs as possible, and if their kids weren't performing well enough, they jumped into the action themselves to grab all they could. Can you imagine adults battling children over colored eggs?

What is wrong with this generation of parents? Do they not know that their behavior says more to their children than any of their words. And what about their values--take, take, take at any cost and at anybody's expense, or their communication to their children that their security and care are really secondary to the needs and desires of their parents.

Perhaps I made a mistake in putting my children first before everything else, but I thought that was my obligation when I brought them into this difficult world. I modeled the behavior I wanted them to emulate. I instilled the values that I hoped they would act out, and I actively encouraged hard work, perseverance and responsible behavior. Then I prayed that they too would adopt those values and choose rightly when they were on their own.

Young parents must recognize that their every choice is a forever imprint on their children and the legacy they hand down from one generation to another. Jesus loved all the little children. He gathered and cherished them. Let's do the same.