I just couldn't do it

I couldn't bring myself to make them. You know- those cool rolls that you can make for Easter? You fill them with a marshmallow and then when you bake them, the marshmallow melts and it's hollow inside, symbolizing the empty tomb? Great idea, I thought.

Resurrection rolls, they are called.

I considered making them last year, too- having seen the idea floating around the blogosphere. But my considerations occurred too late: I wasn't organized enough and we never got around to it.

So this year I was determined to do it. I bought the marshmallows and everything.

And then last night I hopped online to find out exactly how, now, do I make those rolls? And that's when I realized that I should have bought some crescent roll dough with the marshmallows. But no, that's okay. Surely there's a recipe somewhere online where I can make homemade dough. So I did a little more searching and found one. In preparation to make them, then, I skimmed through the entire recipe:

Mix sugar and cinnamon together.

Great, have that.

Dip marshmallows in melted margarine, then into sugar mixture. Wrap roll around a marshmallow, covering completely. Dip once more into butter, and again into sugar. Place rolls in a large greased pan and allow to rise till double (about 35 minutes).


No problem.
This will be fun. The kids will love this!


Bake at 375 degrees F for about 15 minutes, or until done. Rolls should be completely empty when cooled…like the empty tomb.


Okay.

Give each child one piece of roll dough—that represents the tomb.

Mmm hmm.


Give each child a marshmallow— that represents Jesus’ body.

Wait. What?

I cannot imagine holding up a marshmallow to my children and saying:
"See this marshmallow, here? This is Jesus."

A marshmallow.

I realize that it seems I would have already made that connection: that the marshmallow would represent Jesus' body. But I didn't really think it through so much. But after thinking it through for about half a second?

Nope. I cannot say that. Cannot do that.


I know some of you can. I'm sure many of you have made these. I think that's great, truly.

Personally, I just couldn't do it.

Guess we'll just have to use those marshmallows for some rice krispy treats instead.

9 comments:

  1. I made them today for the first time. But I am a young adult with no kids to explain the whole 'this marshmallow is Jesus!' thing to. I didn't make that connection before and don't think I could explain it that way even if I did have kids. The recipe I found came without that specific lesson plan. For me, my younger kids would just get a sticky bun to enjoy. Maybe my older kids could get it and understand without needing to equate our savior to a puffy ball of sugar.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow-- I've never heard of these. Interesting. But I don't think I could do it, either :-)

    Hope you all had a joyous Resurrection Sunday!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am the same way with anything like this- cookies, candy, etc. I think its just plain icky, if not irreverent on some level. But that's just me, and now apparently, you ;)

    ~K

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ha, ha, ha! Totally agree with you on this one.

    I think one of the problems with this sort of thing is that analogies/major word pictures are abstract and abstract thinking is not what kids do. They are concrete.

    Books and more books are written about how to teach the gospel and the resurrection to kids. But why not just stick with THE book written to teach us about it. And read it over and over again. (They love repetition!) And read it well.

    You made me laugh, 'cause I can totally hear you.
    "See this marshmallow, here? This is Jesus.... Nope. I cannot say that. Cannot do that."

    Not without laughing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yeah.... no.

    Me neither.

    Now the Resurrection Cookies that are only ONLY the tomb???? Yes. Those I can do. Only we forgot this year. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yep, me either. : ) So that's why I assembled them by myself on Saturday night after all the kids were in bed and then baked them in the morning. They were still empty little "tombs", but no other symbolism was needed or given.
    Al the fun and yummy, none of the irreverence. : )

    ReplyDelete
  7. You crack me up.

    I find those kind of analogies hard to swallow. kinda like what Kendra said.

    Hot cross buns are pretty safe :o)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lol. :) I made them for fun a few years ago when Jack was just one or two, and much too young to grasp the symbolism anyway. Let me tell you... Never! Again!

    Okay, so it's hard enough to draw the connection between Jesus and a marshmallow, right? Well. The marshmallows do not just disappear into thin air, leaving you with a hollow empty "tomb". They melt, and then ooze out the sides. So try drawing the connection between our Risen Lord and marshmallow guts oozing out of a roll.

    And then to top it off, I got to spend half an hour scraping cooked marshmallow off the pan. I repeat: Never! Again! Lol!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Bless you for making that connection in this age of irreverence. We do advent candles and scripture readings and a special meal and dessert (when I'm even organized to do all that!) and I'd like to do resurrection/crucifixion/Jesus' last week ornaments for a tree. (You know, a nail and a cross and palm leaf, etc.) No bunnies or eggs or candy, especially "religious candy." Thanks for this post - very encouraging!

    -Katie

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting! I love hearing from you, and I will do
my best to reply back to you in the comment section.