Come Easter morning when I was a little child, there would usually be a good-sized, fancy-wrapped Easter basket waiting for me on the dining room table. Through the colorful cellophane wrap I would see a rainbow of yummy jellybeans half-circling marshmallow yellow chicks, small chocolate eggs, and a fair-sized hollow chocolate bunny decorated with little candy flowers. I think it is a safe guess that many of my readers share a similar memory. A perennial question is, what part of the chocolate bunny you eat first? All these thoughts about the Easter basket and its contents have inspired an Easter basket prayer.
The Easter basket, possibly made of woven wicker, is the container that holds the colored plastic grass; it is the foundation or base holding all the good stuff! I think of the foundation of my spiritual life: the religious instruction I have had, the materials I have read, the teachers I have had, and the spiritual experiences I have had in my decades of life. What holds my spirituality together? What keeps me together and supports me?
Risen Savior, I acknowledge and appreciate how You lift me up and lovingly keep me from losing my way to You. Sometimes I feel like I cannot “keep it all together,” but You are always with me, and ready to help me through my tough times.
Many folks say they eat the chocolate bunny’s ears first. If so, the bunny will not be able to hear!
Jesus, I pray that you will help me to remain ready to hear of opportunities to tell others about you and the good news of eternal life. Thank you for suffering and dying for me. I especially rejoice in your resurrection during this Easter season! I will try to help my family and friends hear how you are here with all of us and are offering us hope and mercy.
Those jellybeans are so colorful and offer such varieties of flavors.
Risen Lord, prompt me and inspire me with little, selfless, colorful acts of kindness and generosity so that, by my example, others may benefit and be inspired too. Just like the sweetness of sugar candy, may the love I show become addictive.
Those yellow marshmallow chicks are so soft and sticky.
Lord Jesus, soften my heart and help me to stick with my pursuit of holiness. Remind me that the Holy Spirit is with me to gently guide me. Give me a cheerful attitude and calm my anxieties.
And the lovely tinted cellophane enfolds the whole basket.
Jesus, enfold me in your saving embrace today. Help me to be true to myself and to my calling to be your disciple. May I be the person God created me to be...to be honest and show my true colors. Risen Lord, I love you with all my heart! Amen. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
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Photo by Patrick Forte on Upsplash
Sharon Krause is a RENEW volunteer whose writing has appeared in several resources for small-group faith sharing. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother residing in Manchester, Connecticut. Over the years, she has served in many parish ministries.