The ‘Shoulds” of Easter

I should have bought a new dress. I should have made an egg dish or a fruit salad. And I should have filled the baskets with toys.

Easter is a holiday of tradition. We fill it with all types of ‘shoulds.’ The things we should do and the people we should see. The clothing we should wear and the goodies we should buy. We tend to do the traditional things of this day year after year. With bunnies and lilies in every store, new dresses on every girl, and eggs on mega sale, our culture has bought into the ‘shoulds’ of the holiday.

My nine-year-old reminded me of this on our way to our family gathering. “Mom, we’ve gone to this house every Easter for four years,” he said from the back seat. I replied in the perfectly monotone, mom style with this: “Honey, I’ve been to Easter at his house for thirty-some years. It’s just what we do.”

I can remember Easter egg hunts at my aunt and uncle’s house with my sister and my cousins. We lined up in height order, waiting impatiently for the door to open so we could trample out to fill up our buckets. Our family hid plenty of eggs filled with candy and money. We are all grown now, and many things are different, but a few of us still gather together with our children. It’s still what we do.

This morning as I woke up and began to think through my day. I planned and prepped my family for a morning at church and an afternoon with the family. I started thinking about what we would be doing and what I might need. But instead of feeling like a celebration, it began to feel like a list of to-dos. A list of shoulds.

I should get an extra bag for bringing home the egg loot. I should wear a dress because of Easter. I should go to church because it’s a big day for Jesus.

But I don’t want to celebrate an Easter of ‘shoulds.’

Easter isn’t about celebrating because we should, but because we could. We could be lost in the world of sin. We could be fighting the battles of the world on our own. And we could be lonely in the world of billions.

We celebrate not because we should, but because we can. We can spend time with our families. We can hunt for eggs and decorate with bunnies to symbolize new life. And we can go to church to worship a risen Savior.

Jesus is alive. He died and rose again, just as he said he would.

I didn’t go to church or celebrate with my family because I should. I went because I could. And I am so thankful to be able to do both.

Easter is full of should, would, and could. Which did you celebrate this weekend?