California typically rushes through spring in its frantic dash to summer. Bulbs bloom in February and are gone. Trees bloom and leaf at the same time. If you want to see wildflowers, you better not blink.

This year, however, is very different. For the first time in many years, a cool wet spring is unfurling slowly.

Buds form and pause, teasing us with what is to come. Wildflowers paint the landscape with wide brushstrokes of yellow, orange, purple. Bulbs – some of them long forgotten – push up through moist soil. Their blooms grace my afternoon walks through the neighborhood.

This is also a holy week for many in the world. Christians anticipate the dark night of Good Friday and the victory found at Easter. The Jewish community celebrates Passover, remembering God’s deliverance and protection.

But it occurs to me that just as California usually rushes through spring, so we often treat this time of year as just another holiday. What will we serve for dinner? Will we color eggs since they are so expensive? What will I wear to church? Did we remember to deliver a card to someone in the family? How many chocolates do I dare give the kids?

We check off each tradition. But do we check our hearts?

Easter is unfurling before us. Are you paying attention? Are you amazed by God’s extravagant love for you? Do you understand what any of it is about?

I recently wrote about the power of decrease in our lives. Simplicity allows us to focus, undistracted by our belongings, our accomplishments, our to-do lists.

On what should we focus? 

Today, I am focusing on what it cost Jesus to die on a cross. It was a gruesome death that he could have escaped. But he surrendered because he knew that sacrifice was the only way I could have a relationship with God. He let himself be mocked, tortured, slaughtered. For me.