Last year, after spending several weeks reading the New Testament, I wrote an Easter story for our daughter Lucy. She was three at the time. When the story was finished, I hastily printed off a few pictures from the gospel art kit to accompany it, stapled the whole thing together, and tossed it in the diaper bag in case we needed help passing the hour long drive to Grandma's house on Easter Sunday.
The memory of that drive is one of the cherished memories of my life. I thought Lucy would like the story tolerably well - I'd written it exclusively for her, with language I knew she'd understand and descriptions I thought she'd be able to envision. After Spencer dozed off to the drone of the car engine, I read it to her. I read it with all the love and testimony, hope and gratitude that had been accumulating in my heart during the preceding days of personal study. But even so, when I glanced back at Lucy near the end of the story, I really wasn't prepared to see her big eyes brim with tears. The words I was about to utter caught in my throat and all I could do was smile at her. Knowingly. She smiled back and we finished the last few words.
I've typed the story below.
It's not well crafted and it's hardly proof-read.
I share it not so much for its own merit but in case it might motivate you to create something from your own heart - something that might invite the Spirit to speak to your child this Easter - whatever your medium of choice.
Wishing all a happy celebration of our favorite holiday!
-me.
Little Lamb
An Easter Story
Jesus is my Shepherd. I'm his precious lamb.
Tenderly He guides me with His gentle hand.
Calm are waters where He leads.
Green are pastures where He feeds me.
Jesus is my Shepherd. He loves me.
Jesus is my Shepherd. Jesus knows my name.
For His sheep are numbered; each He loves the same.
If my tiny feet should roam He would seek to bring me home.
Jesus is my Shepherd
Tammy Simister Robinson
Little Lamb looked around at the crowded city. There were so many people! They were happy and busy. They were excited! It was holiday time. It was Passover!
But Little Lamb didn't stop to watch the people. She could hear loud cheers and she wanted to find out what was going on. She walked through the streets, following the sound.
When she made it to the city gates, she was surprised! So many people were gathered. They were excited and shouting! Many of them were waving long branches. They were cheering, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is He that
cometh in the name of the Lord!"
Who were they talking about?
And then she saw him: a man riding on a small donkey. His face was smiling. The people near him called him a King.
Triumphal Entry
Was he a king, that kind man riding on a donkey?
Little lamb watched the happy parade until it was out of sight. She thought about the smiling man on the donkey. She wanted to see his kind face again.
The next day, little lamb looked for the man. She looked in the market. He wasn't there. She looked in the fields. He wasn't there. She looked by the palace. He wasn't there. She looked near the temple. There he was!
But what was he doing? His face was not smiling. He looked strong and serious. He talked to the men at the money tables. He said the temple was a place to pray, not a place to buy and sell. Little lamb watched as money was scattered everywhere.
Jesus Cleansing the Temple
The men at the money tables left the temple, but other people came. People who were blind and sick came. They surrounded the special man.
Many called him Master. Many called him Lord. Many called him Jesus.
Christ Healing the Sick
Little Lamb watched Jesus greet the people. She saw the kindness return to his face. He put his hands on the people and they were healed. She saw them smile. She saw Jesus smile. Little Lamb smiled too.
And she smiled when she heard Jesus teaching. He taught about love. He said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, might, mind, and strength," and "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
Little Lamb followed Jesus as he went through the city, helping people and talking to them.
Christ and the Children
Then, on Thursday, as the sun grew low in the sky, Little Lamb knew it was time for the Passover celebration to begin.
She watched Jesus enter a house with a group of men. Lots of men. She counted them. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve! What would Jesus and those twelve men do inside the house?
Jesus Washing the Apostles' Feet
She waited and waited. After a very long wait she heard the
mens' voices singing a song. A beautiful song.
And then Jesus came out of the house. He walked with his friends to a garden. He told his friends to stop and wait. He said, "Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder."
Little Lamb sat. Again, she waited and waited. She wondered what Jesus was doing in that garden.
Jesus Praying in Gethsemane
He was there a long time. Little Lamb grew sleepier and sleepier. So did
Jesus's friends. Many of them fell asleep. Little Lamb fell asleep too, fast and peacefully asleep.
When Little Lamb wok up, it was morning. She stretched and took a deep breath of spring air. Jesus and his friends were gone. She wondered where they were. She wanted to find Jesus. She looked for him in the market. He wasn't there. She looked in the fields. He wasn't there. When she got to the palace she could hear angry voices shouting. Little Lamb was afraid of the crowd. She ran away from the palace.
Little Lamb searched and searched but she could not find Jesus in the city. She walked out of the city gates and through the fields. On a hill in the distance she saw three funny towers.
The Crucifixion
The wind blew in Little Lamb's face. She shivered. It was only lunchtime, but the sky was getting dark. very dark. Little Lamb wished she could find Jesus. His smiling face was like a shining light. But she couldn't find him. Little Lamb looked for a place to hide as the sky around her grew darker still. "There's a place!" Little Lamb thought when she spotted a small stone cave.
Garden Tomb 1
Little Lamb hurried to the door of the cave and peeked inside. It was quiet. "I'll be safe here," she thought.
Outside she could hear the stormy sky rumbling. She could hear the trees and rocks shake and tremble. It seemed like the whole earth was moaning.
After a time, the wind and the world grew quiet. Inside the cave, Little Lamb laid down on a smooth rock that looked like a bed and fell asleep.
She slept until the sound of footsteps woke her up. Nervous, Little Lamb peered out of the cave. She saw a small group of men and women walking outside. when they spoke, their voices were quiet and sad. Little Lamb was curious. She stepped out of the cave for a better look. When she got close, she saw the man she had been looking for all day! Jesus! He was lying down. His eyes were closed. He was very, very still. The sad people near him were gently wrapping his body with soft white blankets.
Burial of Jesus
Suddenly, Little Lamb understood why the people were sad. Jesus was not sleeping, He was dead.
When Jesus was all wrapped up in the white cloth, two strong men carried him carefully into the cave where Little Lamb had been sleeping. After a few moments, Jesus' friends came out of the cave. But Jesus did not come with them.
The women cried as the men rolled a large, round stone in front of the door to the cave. The big stone covered the little door. Little Lamb would not be able to go inside and look at Jesus. She felt tears come into her eyes as the men and women walked slowly away from the cave.
Little Lamb sat in front of the large round stone for a long time. And then she walked slowly away too.
The next day Little Lamb went back to the city. She watched the people in the market. But she did not feel happy. She walked through the fields, by the palace, and around the temple. She remembered the day she saw Jesus healing the sick people at the temple. But he was not there today. His body was in that stone cave. Little Lamb wandered out the the city gates and found a grassy place to sleep for the night. Just before she closed her eyes, she decided she would go and find the stone cave again tomorrow. Perhaps Jesus' friends would be there too.
The next morning Little Lamb woke up before the sun did. The sky was still dark. She started to walk to the garden where Jesus' body was resting. She walked quietly. She felt sad. Finally she was close enough to see the cave. When she looked at it her eyes grew large. Something was different!
Garden Tomb 2
The big round stone covering the door had been moved! Little Lamb ran quickly to the cave, hoping to see Jesus lying inside. But when she peeked in, all she could see were the white blankets his body had been wrapped up in.
Little Lamb was confused. Where could Jesus be?
Soon she heard footsteps. Some men and a woman came to the garden and looked inside the cave. The men did not stay, but the woman did. She knelt down near the door of the cave. Little Lamb could see tears on the woman's cheeks. She was crying softly.
After a few moments, Little Lamb heard a man's voice talking to the woman. The man asked her why she was crying and who she was looking for.
The woman said she was looking for Jesus.
It was quiet for a moment. Then the man stepped forward into the sunlight. He said, "Mary." The woman looked up in surprise. So did Little Lamb. She knew the man who was talking. It was Jesus! He was standing right there in the garden. He was alive!
Jesus and Mary
Little Lamb's heart filled with happiness as she watched Jesus talk to Mary. After a moment, Jesus and Mary turned to leave, but before they left the garden, Jesus looked back for just a moment. He looked right at Little Lamb. And he smiled.
