April Fools

For identical twins, April 1st is a special day of the year. Commonly referred to as "April Fool's Day," the minor holiday allows identical twins the acceptable tradition to switch places and trick people into mistaking their identity. My identical twin brother and I used to look much more alike, especially during our years in elementary school. Several years we enjoyed switching places on April 1st, usually to the amusement of our classmates who were in on the joke. The best part was always the moment when we would reveal we had switched places (or someone would reveal the fact on our behalf), at which point usually our gracious teachers would smile knowing they had been the target of an April Fool's Day prank, and the whole class would erupt in laughter. My brother and I were able to get away with this prank through high school, although today I think we'd have much more difficulty pulling off the prank without considerable effort. I should also note we only pulled the switching-places-prank in classes we shared, with teachers who we felt would take the prank well, in subjects we could both easily handle switching places (for example, I wouldn't have been able to play the tuba and convince our band directors that I was my brother!) This year for April Fool's Day, I'll be far away from having the chance to switch places with my twin brother. Most people I encounter here don't even know I'm an identical twin other than those who I've told, and I'll miss being able to celebrate April 1st with him.

On a similar note, Good Friday and Easter are coming this weekend, and I can't help but think that in the same way that April Fool's Day is a day when my brother and I celebrated the opportunity to switch places, Good Friday and Easter are the days when we celebrate that Christ switched places with us, taking the punishment and judgment we deserved and earning salvation for us through no merit of our own. Not only that, He had the greatest revealing moment of all when He conquered death and rose again, to the shock of the world.

Happy April Fool's Day, and Happy Easter to all!