The Easter Egg Hunt: Schoville Style

A couple of days ago I read through a brief piece that our dear friend Sandy Schoville had prepared for the women's group at her church. I asked her for permission to print it here because it's a charming description of an Easter celebration. However, it's quite serious too. For the Schoville approach to Resurrection Day presents a serious challenge to the rest of us to be more purposeful and creative in elevating the holiday's importance. As the Old Testament invited worshipers of God to participate (in families) with calendar feasts and special observances that had all kinds of elaborate trappings, so too should Christians embrace ways to teach our children, inspire our friends and win over the watching world.

Here's Sandy --

The Easter Egg Hunt

Easter at our house is an all out family adventure! When our children were small we'd have a little Easter egg hunt, mainly in our house. As they grew - so did the hunt! I think my husband's growing faith also had a lot to do with it. You see, he wanted his children and now his grandchildren, to be as excited about Easter as they are about Christmas. 

Perly, my husband, has a massive hunt that requires help from son-in-laws and the older kids that have graduated out of the hunt. They even start the night before filling about 250 eggs! He divides up the yard, front and back, according to ages. To make it even more dramatic, he adds coins to most eggs. He covers trees, valleys, hills, buildings, porches, driveway - you get the idea. 

One year a little granddaughter had her brand new chiffon Easter dress in shreds. So needless to say, they bring old shoes and clothes. He goes all out even usually cooking a turkey or prime rib.

Why does he do all this? Because Jesus, our Savior rose from the dead. If we believe this and trust Him as our Savior, we too will live forever! Perly desires more than anything that his children and grandchildren believe in Jesus too. So every year after the hunt, we gather around him on chairs and the floor as he talks for a few minutes about Jesus. He tells the story in a new, fresh way. It might be a game he made up, a clip from a movie or simply reading a story. It's awesome. 

And in every grace or prayer my husband prays - his children hear him pray for the next generation. We pass the torch. Our children someday must go from our faith, to one of their own. It's personal. We want them to realize that if they were the only one to walk this earth - Jesus would die for them Easter means He conquered death. We want them to have this assurance. 

They face a challenging world and as they grow, so do the decisions and challenges they'll make. We want them to make these choices holding Jesus' hand, when they no longer hold ours. To listen to His voice when their peers are shouting and they don't hear ours. We want them to hear Him above the roar of the world...

Have a blessed Easter, and find the One who provides the greatest gift of all.