with great power...

There are different ways to approach the Easter Bunny. There is "the cling" where you hold tightly to mom the closer you get...even looking away hoping this situation will just pass. There is the "all in" where kids come running for you like we've know each other since the world was new. There is the "invisible wall" - kids start the run then stop dead in their tracks when their brain says "Hold up! That's one big bunny!"

The most common is the "I want to but is this crazy?" approach. You can see that they want to come, but logic or experience is telling them this is crazy. They trust mom, whose hand they hold, but she's been wrong before. Remember the incident with the shot?
But the desire to see the bunny overrides the fear and kids make it to me, eventually.

This is where I come in. I now have a choice.

See, I'm an adult. I'm smart and strong. There is no way these kids would crawl up in my lap in real life. I'd be a stranger. A person to avoid. With the suit on I represent something good and pure and holy. I represent something familliar.

I have the power to give them a great experience or do irrepairable damage in the 5 min they are with me. I could growl, strike, trash bunny land, chase them, or any number of things that would require thousands in therapist bills.

In my hand I hold the power of faith. If I abuse my power...I change what they believe.

It's terrifying.

Through the mesh of the mask I see people. We all walk through this mall having had our beliefs altered somehow. So many broken hearted, struggling to trust love. Each time we get bit, our faith shrinks further. We exist in shadow and self-preservation believing that the guy in the bunny suit, no matter how good and snuggly he looks, will probably do somehing hurtful in the end.

We start to believe that it simply isn't worth trying. We consider that, even though clearly it would be awesome to hang with the Easter Bunny, crawling up in his lap and letting oneself go is just too risky. The perimiter is safe...it might be less satisfying, but I won't die by bunny attack today. It's better if I keep my options open rather than giving all to the bunny...or to love.

I know Jesus had to have felt it on his way to the cross. The potential for all of this to go very wrong had to seem high. He could have lost it all...believing in promises...and never saw his life return - never to know love again. But he kept walking, believing that he could totally submit and love would find him again.

In so many ways, a life of temporary relationships, career focus, chemical abuse, or amusement just seems safer. I don't expect them to love me or be here in the end. I know they come and go. They are for the moment...at least it's clear. When the moment is over and I'm left with nothing but the empty, there's no hard feelings because there was no expectations.

I've decided I want love. I don't say that with confidence...I say it like my young friends come to the bunny. I move real slow staring straight ahead for clues indicating if it's safe.