The preparation for the event involved hard boiling eggs and then decorating them. Nothing else was allowed, no protective layers, no hardening process, just the eggs in their shells. Easter Monday would come and we would find a location. Once in Scotland this meant a windswept hillside, with rain threatening every second of the fun. My oldest daughter was 6 at the time and she was very excited about the prospect of egg rolling in Scotland!
We made our way to the top of the hill and prepared to start the contest. The winner is simply the one whose egg stays intact the longest. There is of course a technique to this, keep the swing of the arm under control, crouch and then let go so that contact with the ground is made quickly, thus limiting the impact and the chance of an explosion on the first throw. In her excitement my daughter didn't let go until her arm was in the upmost part of the swing, so instead of a gentle roll the egg tried to join the space race!
The result was catastrophic, egg shell and hard boiled contents where scattered everywhere on impact. There was a moment of silence and then the tears began. She had hoped for victory and yet it had all ended in the first throw.
As I reached out to console her, my egg was still in my hand, having not yet been rolled. Taking her hand I placed it on her palm. Her fingers wrapped around it and a smile lit up her face, she had another chance!
The Easter story has similar parallels, the world God created was damaged by our choices and so was our relationship with him. Yet in Easter, God offers us another chance, he takes our damaged relationships and offers something whole and new.
Why he chooses to do this is a question that is central to the whole Easter story.
A question whose answer can be found in one verse in John's first book in the New Testament and it is the same as the reason why I gave my egg to my daughter. Love, the New Testsment tells us, simply seeks to put things right, what ever the cost; which in God's case, led him to give his one and only Son.
Easter eggs have never been the same since that day for me, nor one could argue, has the world been the same, since that first Easter.
