I spent an eternity in the Easter aisle at one of the big box stores yesterday. Honestly, it was only about eight and one half minutes of what felt like an eternity. Candy and trinkets filled both sides of the aisle for about the length of a soccer field but not nearly as wide. There is no way for two carts to pass going in opposite directions. I’m stuck in the aisle until she decides which chocolate bunny will be best. She decides on the large hollow bunny rather than the smaller solid chocolate one and moves on. I’m convinced the stores strategy is to slow shoppers down in the aisles so they buy more. It doesn’t work with me it only irritates me and motivates me to leave sooner with only half my list checked off.

The shoppers who found themselves in the Easter aisle on this day were in good spirits, polite and helpful. I selected various candies to create Easter care packages to send off to our children who would not be home to hunt for Easter eggs or find their Easter baskets. This task is one of our ways of keeping our Easter traditions alive.

With immediate preparations for celebrating Easter it is simple to lose my focus on my Lenten practice of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. I’m willing to give my attention to bunnies, candy and baskets now and forget the meaning of Easter. It’s also easy to lose my focus while preparing for the liturgical celebrations of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. These last days of Lent offer me an opportunity to continue my preparation to celebrate the Easter sacraments. I commit myself to remember, Lent’s not over yet.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation.” (Ps 27:1a)