Anticipate

"Mommy, is it Pascha yet?  Is that bird ALIVE?!"

Z has been asking this question daily.  Multiple times a day.  Ever since Great Lent began, she has been anticipating, with great joy, the day that we celebrate the Resurrection.  We haven't had to do too much explaining about why exactly Christ's Resurrection is so important, so vital to our faith.  She gets it.

Awhile back, before Lent, we found a dead bird in our back porch.  She was concerned about the bird and very sad when we shared that the bird was in fact dead, and not sleeping.  We took this opportunity to explain that when Jesus rose from the dead, he defeated death.   And when He returns, He will redeem ALL of creation.  This didn't seem to make much of an effect on her sadness, but we didn't push it.  To truly love and understand life, we must understand the reality of death. 

Then Lent began.  And she began talking more and more about Jesus rising from death.  She walked around the house singing softly, "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!"  She would tell people about Pascha and how excited she was to celebrate.  She would unabashedly proclaim"Did you know, all things are alive in Christ?!"  during snack time when we weren't even discussing the subject.

Like I said, we haven't pounded this into her.  She has soaked it in during Liturgy.  She has seen the hope in the scripture readings and prayers.  She has grasped the reality of the Resurrection.  The truth of the Resurrection is real and tangible, right now.  So whenever she talks about Pascha, she asks about the bird.  She believes, with her whole heart, that Christ defeated death, once and for all.  

Her faith and fervor are inspiring.  This is one of the many moments in parenting in which I realize our roles have been reversed.    She is the teacher, I am the student and I have so much to learn.