With spring starting to make its debut here in Calgary, having already enjoyed some double digit temperatures, we look forward to celebrating Easter with the family.
Thinking back to some former years, Easter was something I really looked forward to as a youngster in the “1950’s”. My job was to boil a bunch of eggs and then paint them by dipping them into various batches of food coloring in bowls. After that we would get some “transfer tattoos” of various types of symbols to decorate them with.
As our Dad was travelling around the country side doing his Veterinarian work, he usually stopped in to some Ukrainian folks, and he would come back with some very specially decorated and ornate eggs, with symbolism that I did not yet understand, and he gave them to us as keep sakes.
Mom by then was busy cooking up a huge pot of “Ploomi-mouse”, and baking Easter bread in tall metal cans, as well as loads of Hot Cross buns. The “fatted” goose was prepared, stuffed with “bubbat”, along with a huge baked ham.
Come Easter Sunday morning, before Church, I would go out and hide these eggs as well as some candy and chocolate eggs in specially made nests, that I had made in the previous week and located them all over our property.
Then, many of my family would come out for the Easter Dinner feast, after which all the young nephews and nieces would go and spread out over the acres with their baskets to collect as many as they could find! Those were fun times!
Who could have known, just a few years later, we would experience the loss of our Dad to a very sudden death.
The worst day of my life happened on April 22, 1962, Easter Sunday morning, we were awoken, Dad was having trouble breathing.
As we awaited the ambulance’s arrival, his face turned many colors, and he died before our eyes. We were all in shock. Mom was devastated.
I recall the “Preachers” and various folks from the Church came to the house and our family came together to grieve this totally unexpected loss.
The funeral took place on rainy day, and I recall us brothers lowering the casket into the grave with ropes, and hearing the thud of the clumps of dirt falling onto the boards below. Tears flowed freely. This was the end; I would never see him again. I was living as one “who was grieving like the rest of men, who have no hope”!
Unfortunately I knew very little about a day in the future, “for when a time will come when all who are in their graves will hear His voice, and come out – those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned”! (John 5:28-29)
It would be years later when the “Resurrection of the dead” would be made clear to me. We had learned that Jesus rose up from the grave on Easter morning in Sunday School. The fact that all those that have died believing in Jesus would be raised up by the same power that Jesus was raised with, I did not understand.
I finally got to understand how it was that God could forgive all the many sins that I had committed. I realized that I would not have to be on my knees for the rest of my life, begging God forgiveness, and then sinning again and again!
The fact that Jesus paid the price for all my sins, and all mankind’s sin on that Cross, and that He died and arose on the third day so that all who trust in Him will be saved and also resurrected one day to Eternal life with Him. All this became personally clear to me finally!
Ever since that day, every Easter has been a ‘Happy Easter’ for me and my household.
May God bless you this coming Easter by becoming as real to you, as what He did for me 25 years ago when He gave me a new life!
Peter A. Kehler, a Berliner Kehler, Pastors at Bow Valley Christian Church and resides in Calgary, AB.
I loved this article Uncle Peter – it brought back so many memories. Like Harvey said, I remember those Easter egg hunts. They were the best. All those eggs hidden on the yard for the grandchildren to find. Then later we had the most amazing meal prepared by Grandma. I remember Grandpa had a cane & if I was within cane reach he would laughingly “hook” me with the cane & pull on his lap or give me a peppermint. We always had so much fun when we went to their house. It was always full of laughter, aromas of baked bread or buns, uncles who teased, a fun auntie & cousins to play with.
Hi Uncle Peter, great story. One of the things I remember about Grandpa was we all went out to Steinbach by train and it was so cold (Winnipeg cold) and Grandpa had the biggest hands I’d ever seen! And when he gently slapped my knee because he was so happy to see us, he didn’t realize how hard he slapped me. But he was just a gentle giant.
Thank you brother Peter for sharing your precious memories of that day when I too saw my dad on his knees before his God and then sit down on the couch and he died . He was a wonderful father. His old clock stopped working that morning and never worked again. What beautiful memories we have to share and remember. Blessings to you Peter for your faithfullness.
What a revealing story Uncle Peter. I had only ever heard what happened to Grandpa from my Dad but he was not right there at the time, he was in B.C. I was 5 I think when he passed away but we kids always thought of our Grandpa especially at Easter because Jesus arose on that day. It was really profound and fascinating to hear your experiences and memories of how it was for you when you lost your Dad as I had never heard that before. Happy Easter Uncle Peter!
Great article Peter. It is so amazing that almost 50 yrs. after grandpa passed away that these memories are still so vivid. I remember the Easter egg hunts and family gatherings and always looked forward to going to grandpa and grandmas for these occasions. What great grandparents they were. Grandpa would always grab us when we arrived there and rub his stubble beard on our cheeks – what a guy – typical of Kehler jokesters.