Easter is here! It is my favorite holiday. This year is the first time since 1986 that we will not have an Easter egg hunt. Our youngest are now of an age where it doesn't make sense.
In honor of a new era of Easter for our family, I actually ordered a crucifix. It is not the type crucifix--here is what it looks like:
Isn't that lovely? When I was growing up, my family was Catholic (well, my father wasn't, but that's where we went to church). The crucifixes I grew up around all featured Christ in agony on the cross--sometimes even to the point of gruesomeness. They rightly made me feel sad, and I avoided looking at them.
At the same time, when I converted to the CoJC, the absence of the cross entirely also took me aback. While I understand that the Church believes Gethsemane was perhaps more important in the Atonement, the cross brought Christ to a point where He could not feel God's presence, it brought him to death at the hands of evil men. Christ even told his disciples to "take up your cross and follow me." There is something important about the cross.
So this image of the cross, but Christ having transcended it and having risen from the dead, seems just perfect to me. I look forward to having it in our home, to remind me of the pain and the joy. Happy Easter!