Simon from Cyrene

I've always loved Easter.  I remember seeing the Easter story performed at Cedar Valley Community Church, closing my eyes and listening to my heart beat a hundred times a minute as the sounds of the nails pounding into the cross echoed through the church.  I remember the anticipation that followed the moments after the crucifixion, and the thunderous bass that accompanied the stone as it rolled from the tomb.  I loved that annual performance and am still saddened I can't let Beau and Cruz see it for themselves.  It was amazing. 

I've heard the Easter story again and again; however, I'd never heard it from the perspective of Simon from Cyrene.  I remember reading and hearing about Simon, the man who was pulled from the crowd to carry the cross when Jesus couldn't do it himself, but I always assumed it was Simon Peter, one of Jesus' disciples and closest friends.  But knowing the story of Simon from Cyrene gives it a whole new meaning.

Simon from Cyrene was a no-name.  A passerby.  An unconnected, unrelated man from out of town, passing through in the middle of a parade.  A parade where people were cursing, scrutinizing, and accusing a man they had praised and followed just days before.  Simon stopped, probably in innocent curiosity; He had no intention of being in the middle of the commotion.  

That is, until a Roman soldier pulled him from the crowd and demanded he carry the heavy, bloody cross of a criminal.  Carry the burden of a man who would later carry the burden and sins of the entire world.  The Bible doesn't say why Simon was the man pulled from the crowed, or more importantly, what was going through his mind when forced to take over the grueling task.  Although many of these questions are left unanswered, one thing is for sure.  Simon of Cyrene felt shame.  Shame, because in that parade, the onlookers now looked to Simon as the criminal.  

Simon from Cyrene taught me a lot this Easter.  Most of all, he taught me that it's not okay to simply be an onlooker.  Someone content with sitting in the crowd and blending in.  God chose a simple man like Simon to teach us the power and influence we all have.  The power to stand out from the crowd and be a true follower of Jesus.

    

Easter weekend was a good one.

It began with an early morning breakfast, early with the sunrise, a snuggly baby in blue footed pajamas and a bowl of rice cereal with mixed fruit...
 

...followed by some playtime and a baby-food-making-spree, complete with cheesy cauliflower and tomatoes, onions and carrots, pears and apples, and Cruz's favorite, butternut squash.
 

I stuffed my first-ever Easter basket...
  

 

 

 

 

 

 And made one little boy feel pretty important sitting by his very own Easter treasures...

 

I thought it'd be cute to let Cruz play with his dyed Easter eggs...

...that is, until I had a baby with two blue lips, two blue hands, and one very blue tongue!

...We went to church at Orchard on Saturday night, just the three of us, and felt cozy and thankful for the very special blessing in our lives.

Sunday morning, we woke up to more Easter basket fun: a new set of blocks, a very first Peter Rabbit book, and some CDs that play the same music that lulls our little one to sleep every Sunday at church.  Of course, Cruz was more fascinated at the Easter grass and plastic cover on his new sippy cup.  This Christmas, he's getting a cardboard box...

We headed to Allison Easter morning, to show Cruz the church that his mommy and daddy were married in.  Since Cruz got his typical 'sermon nap' in on the half-hour car ride, I was a little worried about how he'd do during church.  For the first twenty minutes, he was a ham!  Grabbing the back of Jordan's shirt, smiling at the girls behind us, and doing his famous, 'no, no, no,' head shake every two minutes.  But just when I thought the children's nursery was in our future, he fell asleep in my arms.  A sweet sleep that resulted in a rosy-cheeked, happy little boy.

We had breakfast at Great Grandma Henrichs', and lunch at Great Grandma Hoodjer's.  Cruz ate at the table with us, cleaned up his peas and carrots, and even tried some of Grandma's famous carrot casserole.  He played, he snuggled, and even jabbered, but hardly slept.  Tomorrow will either be a catch-up day at day care, or a day with one wired baby!  

We celebrated a great first Easter with our Cruz Man.  Tonight, I am tired, but feeling blessed beyond words.  I love my little bunny and feel so thankful to be his mama...