Children's Moment: How Grandma's Sugar Eggs Taught Me About Jesus

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Matthew 28:6

During this season of Lent, Easter is on my brain.  It reminds me of when I was a young girl, my Grandma Allen used to make beautifully decorated sugar Easter eggs.  The eggs were huge, about the size of Aggie’s head.  They were brightly colored and decorated so pretty.  She made the eggs where you could open up the eggs and see the inside of them.  She always placed homemade chocolate covered peanut butter candy inside.  She said each time I ate a piece of candy I would be reminded of Jesus’ sweet love for us by his sacrifice he made on the cross for our sins.  She said when the egg was empty I would be reminded of the empty tomb and Jesus rising into heaven.  I remember one year eating almost all of the candy at one sitting.  I felt miserable.  My tummy hurt so bad and it was true, all I could think about was Jesus.  I kept asking him to help me feel better and to make my pain go away.  I don’t think that was my Grandma’s idea behind the wonderful candy and beautiful egg.

An egg means new life.  It reminds us that there is a new life inside that can come out.  We celebrate Easter Sunday because that is the day that Jesus came out of the grave and He was alive.  Let us pray.

Children's Moment 2/28/11: God wrote a book just for me

My Grandpa Allen is 81 years old.  He has a hard time seeing things with his eyes anymore so it’s hard for him to read his Bible, so when I visit he has me read his Bible to him and that’s what I did yesterday.  After I got done reading his Bible to him he said “I sure do feel lucky that God wrote that book just for me and just for you.”  It reminded me of when I was a little girl and my Grandma Allen said the same thing to me.  She always told me, “Carrie, God loved you so much that he wrote a book just for you.”  At the time I didn’t understand what my Grandma was saying to me, I really thought the Bible was written for older people who could read it and understand it.  But earlier this week I read a scripture in Matthew that says “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  God made sure to include children in the Bible because YOU as a child are important to Him.  God loved you so much that He wrote a book just for you.  My Grandma always was able to explain things to me in a way I could understand, so what she did when I was little was to put my name in place of words in the Bible so I could see how God had written a book just for me.  Now I will read the same verse the way my Grandma used to read it to me “Let Alex come to me, Let Aggie come to me, Let Adam come to me. . .  and do not hinder Alex, Adam, Aggie, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.”

Let us pray: “Dear God, thank you today for bringing these children into your house of worship.  I pray that we remind our children today of your love and how you prepared a special book just for each of them to read and grow to know you better.  Help each of us learn your ways through your Holy word.  We love and praise you.  In Jesus name, Amen.”