I have an inquisitive 6-year-old who thinks the best way to get my attention is to repeatedly ask me the exact same question without even pausing for a breath. Even if I heard him the first time, there is literally not a moment of silence to respond to his question before he’s asking it again, and again, and again, and again.
It’s frustratingly ridiculous in the moment when I have to interrupt him to answer his question. They say kids mirror what their parents do … which makes it less funny and more terrifying.
Maybe I don’t incessantly ask the same question over and over, but what is he mirroring? Most days, my brain feels like a caffeinated hamster in one of those plastic balls running headlong into the wall only to smash into something hard and abruptly change course. I (dare I say “we”) have become accustomed to filling every moment with noise. Waiting in a line? – Instagram time. Riding in a car? Check out the latest news. On the toilet? – time for some emails.
In the noise-obsessed world, perhaps the 6-year-old has found the key to get inside my hamster ball.
Hamsters don’t stop to wonder where they are going, they just keep running until they smash into something. Not that I love being compared to a rodent, but I’d like to suggest that we do the same thing. We don’t stop to see what is right in front of our faces.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been engrossed in your phone only to hear a distant, “Mom? … Mooooom? … MOM?!!!!! … of the child right in front of you. When we’re distracted, we miss what is right in front of our nose.
Perhaps our surroundings feel inconsequential. After all, watching trending dance reels is wildly more important than looking our children in the face. Right? We sure act like it is sometimes.
If it isn’t our phones, certain holidays carry extra noise with them. Easter consumerism walks in the room like a one man band with cymbals strapped to his legs and hands, bashing and crashing as he walks. Could we even FIND the real meaning of Easter in the overstocked, multi-colored, bunny-laden, Easter-eggin’, gimmy-gettin’, basket-beggin’, candy-cravin’ shelves at Walmart?
If you haven’t been thrashed around by the one man consumerism band, then you’ve probably been assaulted in the comfort of your own home by an Instagram Mom who has the picture-perfect traditions you only wish you could live up to. What psychopath already has her matching outfits picked out and the photographer booked? Are you even real? Your pastel perfection, bunny centerpieces and egg garland makes me want to choke with envy. My Christmas decorations are literally still slogging their way back to the shelves like a blubbery walrus who has no intention of moving anywhere with purpose. Welcome to my hamster ball, where all I have time for is the death-scroll to the next unapproachable perfection that I’ll never be.
Sorry – too real? Maybe not.
Maybe it’s time to get out of the hamster ball.
The problem is, life is so noisy in the ball, we can miss what’s happening around us.
I walked into the living room the other day and was very focused on a text I needed to send. Imagine my surprise when I looked up and saw my daughter sitting on the couch reading a book. I had completely missed a whole human sitting eight feet away from me because my eyes were focused on the “noise” of my life.
The same can be true of Easter.
We can miss the point because we’re too fixated on our hamster ball.
Among the bunnies this year, don’t miss why Easter happened.
The Bible says all have sinned and fallen short of God’s holiness. That, unfortunately, includes me. I can never be good enough to earn a spot in heaven. Quite the opposite – The Bible says that payment or wages for my sin is eternal separation from God.
The story isn’t over there though – which is why Easter is significant!
John 3:16 tells us that God loved us so much that He sent his perfect son – Jesus – to pay for the consequences of our sin and that whoever believes (or completely trusts) in Him (Jesus) will have eternal life in Heaven.
So let’s open the hamster ball and look around. Repenting of our sin, fully trusting in Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection (on Easter!) is the one and only way to get into heaven … don’t miss it!
Meet your farmer – Liz Gerdes. She and her husband run a farm-to-table raw milk dairy and farm Airbnb in Caledonia. If you’re looking for raw milk fresh from the farm, visit gerdesfreshfarm.com or follow her on Facebook @gerdesfreshfarm or Instagram @gerdesliz for more info.
EASY Easter Sunshine Salad
1 – 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 – 3 oz. (small) box of lemon Jello
1 – 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple in its own juice
1 cup whipping cream, whipped (or heavy whipping cream if you want it extra delicious!)
Drain pineapple, reserving the juice (you want 1 ½ c. I use the back of a spoon to press it out and you can add a bit of water if there isn’t enough), heat the juice up to not quite boiling. Add it to a bowl with the Jello in it and stir until dissolved (2 min.) Pinch off bits of cream cheese, about a Tbsp. size, into warm gelatin. I use a fork to press it against the side of the bowl to break it up even further. Add the crushed pineapple and stir. Fold in the whipped cream. Put it in a shallow serving dish. Refrigerate until gelled 4-6 hrs. Enjoy!