On Easter and Candy

It’s happening to us again, folks. I told you I would warn you. It’s a plot.

They, the “Sugar Gremlins”, are out to get us again.

I walked through Wal-Mart a few days ago, and I know that I have never seen so much candy in my life! The aisles are packed with every kind of candy imaginable. Then I visited Walgreens. Oh my gosh!

Now, I am not even going to touch the grocery store “gremlins”. They visited Dillons too!

Now what are we going to do?!

First, the health something or other tells us we are too fat and need to re-assess our eating habits. Then Michelle Obama puts more carrot sticks on the lunch plate and takes away ½ of a bun.

The World Health Organization, (WHO) has determined that we are an obese bunch, and that obesity leads to diabetes, cardiovascular, and cancer. It also acknowledges sugar and corn There’s even a National Obesity Foundation that has declared that 35% of the population is obese and 70% are overweight.

The AMA, the nation’s largest physician group, has voted to adopt a policy to stop the “obesity epidemic”. Well, goody goody for them. They recommended (in their many meetings) that there needs to be improved consumer education on the adverse health effects of sugar.

Well, duh.

So with nary a word, with hardly a wink of the eye, we come into the highest holiday of the Christian calendar with our stores stocked with more sugar, more chocolate, more marshmallow bunnies, more jelly beans, and so forth than has ever been

displayed before!

And what is this all about? Economics, you say? Well, yes. That too.

But, the main point here is that we, the American people, the Parents, the “mature ones” are going to overindulge, over-sugarfy, over-glut our children with this junk. And if we are going to keep the “Easter Bunny” story going, we will cram our baskets with the stuff.

We can have the AMA make statements. We can buy diet food after the party. We can look around us. But the worst thing is that the words seem to mean NOTHING. Instead, we decide to teach our babies to eat way too much of this sugar.

The Sugar Gremlins must be thrilled as they stand there with their decaying teeth and fat bodies laughing at us!

As soon as Easter is over, the stores will be offering the sweets at ½ price and we, the lemmings, will rationalize that this is a good buy, and we will take home more of the stuff for treats from now until next Halloween.

Oh my.

But I have good news.

It’s Easter this weekend. Christ is risen.

It’s a time of renewal and we can see it all around us. The grass is turning green; the trees are in bloom, and life comes anew.

There is no greater celebration in the Christian year than Easter.

Christ died. The seed goes into the ground and comes up new and alive. He did the same.

He came out of the tomb. He is risen.

Death has no sting. The grave has no victory.

And if we remember this, we will truly be celebrating Easter in our hearts.

And we don’t have to sweeten up this truth!

Happy Easter!!