Sunday will be my first Easter since I stopped believing in Jesus.

It’s kind of weird to not have plans to go to church for Easter.  We went to church every Sunday, but Easter was always a big deal service designed to appeal to the seekers.  Our church always had a big variety show-style service with the band, choir, dancers, and skits.  The church even rented a bigger space to accommodate the increased crowd size and hold only one service, instead of the usual five services they have on regular Sundays.

As you may know, if you have ever read my craft blog, I love planning big meals, doing crafts, and decorating.  When I was a Christian, though, I believed that celebrating the secular trimmings of Christian holidays trivialized the meaning, so I stopped doing a lot of it.

Yes, as my husband pointed out to me the other night, I took all the fun out of being a Christian.

I can’t help that I took it seriously.  I fail to see much point in being a Christian, if you’re not going to take it seriously.  Maybe that was my problem.

But I digress.

This Easter, I have been enjoying the planning of a secular celebration, like those of my youth.  I can buy the kids big baskets and fill them with candy, without worrying about rotting their souls along with their teeth.  I can make decorations of bunnies and eggs, without guilt over participating in a pagan celebration.  And I don’t have to worry about how I am going to schedule the cooking around the church-going.

I find it freeing.  Which is ironic, since freedom is what I was seeking to find in Christ.

I think I did, for a time.  Being forgiven, being loved unconditionally, feels free.  Coming out from under the burden of the past mistakes is true freedom.

But, when most, if not all, of the guilt over past mistakes comes from Christianity in the first place, from this notion of how God wants us to behave, then it doesn’t take long for the freedom to turn into bondage.

Some might say I was just being legalistic, or that I need “a relationship, not religion.”  And, indeed, some have said just that.

To that, I say, show me a religion that has no standards of behavior and I’ll show you a religion that has no point.

If what is said in the Bible is just a friendly suggestion, it has no point.  At least, no more of a point than any other good book of religion or philosophy, and certainly not enough to call me into a life of service to its god.

For there to be a need for Jesus, and his death and resurrection, we first need to have sinned.  There needs to exist that separation from God.  For us to have sinned, there needs to be standards of behavior laid out by God that we violated.  So, for anyone to suggest that Christianity is only about grace and not about standards of behavior is a bit disingenuous.

That’s not to say that I have no standards of behavior.  I do.  Only, now, they are based on what behavior will yield the best results for me and the world around me, not some book that is thousands of years old and was written to a long ago, foreign culture.

And my new standards, which are in many ways like the old ones, allow for me to celebrate spring with my family, without all the guilt.

I have always thought there was immense value in marking the passing of time and important events with celebrations. Getting together with family and friends – especially when there is delicious food involved – is good for the soul (meaning, of course, our emotional/psychological well-being, not a literal soul, in the religious sense).

Living in Vermont, winter is long, cold, snowy, dark, and did I mention long? Spring is a season that just begs to be welcomed with a large celebration! And why wouldn’t we want to celebrate it? It is the time of the earth’s rebirth. The grass is turning green, the birds are returning, the trees are budding, the bulbs are blooming, and, most importantly, the snow has melted. Another long, snowy winter has come to an end. Pass the ham!

I noticed this year that a lot of stores have spring-themed decor, rather than just religious-themed, making it even easier to have a secular Easter celebration. Now I can have flower cupcake papers and butterfly serving dishes, alongside the traditional bunnies, eggs, and chicks.

Now, I know I don’t have to celebrate spring on Easter, but the vernal equinox is usually still way too cold, and it’s a convenient way to plan the date and make sure I don’t forget to mark this special time of year.

So, while Christians are thinking about their stories of the death and resurrection of Jesus and what it means to them, I will be taking a break from my hectic life to celebrate family and welcome spring, thankful that I no longer need to plan my cooking around the church service.

Have a happy Easter, and thanks for reading Shatter Nicely!

It’s kind of weird to not have plans to go to church for Easter.  We went to church every Sunday, but Easter was always a big deal service designed to appeal to the seekers.  Our church always had a big variety show-style service with the band, choir, dancers, and skits.  The church even rented a bigger space to accommodate the increased crowd size and hold only one service, instead of the usual five services they have on regular Sundays.

As you may know, if you have ever read my craft blog, I love planning big meals, doing crafts, and decorating.  When I was a Christian, though, I believed that celebrating the secular trimmings of Christian holidays trivialized the meaning, so I stopped doing a lot of it.

Yes, as my husband pointed out to me the other night, I took all the fun out of being a Christian.

I can’t help that I took it seriously.  I fail to see much point in being a Christian, if you’re not going to take it seriously.  Maybe that was my problem.

But I digress.

This Easter, I have been enjoying the planning of a secular celebration, like those of my youth.  I can buy the kids big baskets and fill them with candy, without worrying about rotting their souls along with their teeth.  I can make decorations of bunnies and eggs, without guilt over participating in a pagan celebration.  And I don’t have to worry about how I am going to schedule the cooking around the church-going.

I find it freeing.  Which is ironic, since freedom is what I was seeking to find in Christ.

I think I did, for a time.  Being forgiven, being loved unconditionally, feels free.  Coming out from under the burden of the past mistakes is true freedom.

But, when most, if not all, of the guilt over past mistakes comes from Christianity in the first place, from this notion of how God wants us to behave, then it doesn’t take long for the freedom to turn into bondage.

Some might say I was just being legalistic, or that I need “a relationship, not religion.”  And, indeed, some have said just that.

To that, I say, show me a religion that has no standards of behavior and I’ll show you a religion that has no point.

If what is said in the Bible is just a friendly suggestion, it has no point.  At least, no more of a point than any other good book of religion or philosophy, and certainly not enough to call me into a life of service to its god.

For there to be a need for Jesus, and his death and resurrection, we first need to have sinned.  There needs to exist that separation from God.  For us to have sinned, there needs to be standards of behavior laid out by God that we violated.  So, for anyone to suggest that Christianity is only about grace and not about standards of behavior is a bit disingenuous.

That’s not to say that I have no standards of behavior.  I do.  Only, now, they are based on what behavior will yield the best results for me and the world around me, not some book that is thousands of years old and was written to a long ago, foreign culture.

And my new standards, which are in many ways like the old ones, allow for me to celebrate spring with my family, without all the guilt.